Development and Demonstration of New Technology for the use of Wind Turbines on Ships

Rapport, 2014

Technology to substantially reduce commercial ship fuel consumption by harnessing sea winds for simultaneous generation of electricity and thrust, has been developed by the company PROPit AB. The basic idea is to apply conventional wind turbine technology for the marine environment, where the turbine will also take the function of sails. Primary target market is tankers or bulk ships with a large and open deck space. Chalmers, in a study co-sponsored by the Swedish Energy Agency and Chalmers Energy Centre, 2011, confirmed fuel saving estimates around 15-30 % for optimal routes, but with higher uncertainties.