Airbus to install innovative fuel-saving sails on chartered ship
New technology may save 1,800 tons of CO2 emissions per year
Airbus, the global aerospace and defence giant, will equip a transatlantic ship that transports its aircraft subassemblies with a wind-assisted propulsion technology to capture wind energy to generate thrust, delivering savings in fuel consumption and CO2 emissions.
The eSAIL, developed by the Spain-based bound4blue, creates as much as six to seven times more lift than a conventional rigid sail.
It consists of a sail-like vertical surface and an electric-powered air suction system that helps the airflow re-adhere to the sail, generating additional lift and reducing the load on the ship’s main engines.
Three 22-metre-high eSAILs will be fitted to the Ville de Bordeaux ship Airbus charters from shipowner Louis Dreyfus Armateurs ahead of a six-month performance monitoring period starting in early 2024.
Gross savings
According to bound4blue estimations, these eSAILs could deliver fuel and CO2 emissions savings of up to 560 tons and 1,800 tons, respectively, for this ship annually.
bound4blue develops automated wind-assisted propulsion systems as a turnkey solution for shipowners and shipping companies seeking to reduce fuel costs and polluting emissions.
The Ville de Bordeaux regularly ferries Airbus A320 subassemblies from Europe to Mobile in the United States for final assembly.
Fitting the eSAILs on the Ville de Bordeaux supports Airbus’ commitment to halve CO2 emissions from its maritime operations by 2030, compared to a 2015 baseline.
The eSAIL technology installation on the Ville de Bordeaux is co-funded by the European Union.
Long-term study
Nicolas Chrétien, Head of Sustainability & Environment at Airbus, said: “We at Airbus have been studying wind-assisted technologies as a potential energy source for our maritime operations for many years,”
“As we embark on an exciting journey with our partners Louis Dreyfus Armateurs and bound4blue, we reaffirm our ambition to explore all innovation pathways to develop more sustainable maritime solutions and further reduce the carbon footprint of our industrial operations. This technology looks promising, and we are eager to start testing it in real conditions by the end of the year.”
Mathieu Muzeau, Transport & Logistic General Manager at Louis Dreyfus Armateurs, said: “At Louis Dreyfus Armateurs, we are committed to supporting the decarbonisation of the shipping industry, achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
“Wind-assisted propulsion is one of the solutions we believe will help us reach this objective. To determine the best technology for our operations, we are eager to identify and test various forms of wind-assisted propulsion, including rotating vertical cylinders, flexible sails, rigid sails, and wings. We are pleased to announce that we will soon install bound4blue’s eSAILs on our ro-ro vessel, Ville de Bordeaux, which we operate for Airbus.”
David Ferrer, CTO of bound4blue, said: “After implementing and proving our technology on three ships already, we are excited to install our 22-metre eSAILs on Ville de Bordeaux. This deployment will mark the first-ever fixed suction sail installation on a Ro-Ro ship, demonstrating that suction sails can be deployed on ships with high weather decks and large windage areas, not compromising the vessel’s stability.”
Featured image: The eSAIL creates six to seven times more lift than a conventional rigid sail. Image: Airbus
