80,000 tons of freight powered by wind energy

cargo ships among the major polluters. They use tons of diesel or heavy fuel oil every day and don’t just inflate Carbon Dioxide in the air but also sulfur dioxide. According to the European Union study, freight is 13.5% of all greenhouse gases in the European Union.

Alternative propulsion systems by which huge ships could manage their voyages, some of which can last several weeks, are still elusive. Neither hydrogen nor battery power is currently suitable for this. In addition, in many cases new ships would have to be built for these drives.

British company bar techniques He has a different approach. Existing freighters must use much less fuel with a sail system that can be modified.

The system is called developer Wind wings. the Pyxis surroundings It is the first large cargo ship to be equipped with it. He was 2017 Son, it is 229 meters long and can 80 thousand tons of cargo transmit. Now he’s on his first big ride with Windwings. The flight goes from Singapore to Brazil.

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The height of the masts is 37.5 meters

Strictly speaking, these are not sails, but wings – hence the name Windwings. The system consists of a mast and 3 elements. spar 37.5 meters high. The element in the middle is 10 metres Wide, the items on the left and right respectively 5 metres.

The entire structure can be rotated in order to catch the wind in the best possible way. Items with a length of 5 meters can be made angle adjustment be, which improves wind yield. All of this should happen automatically. Sensors monitor the wind and temperature of the ship and automatically adjust the wings. At wind speeds over 74 km / h, mast collapsed, so as not to damage the system. Thanks to the folding mechanism, the cargo van can also pass under the bridges without the need to disassemble or assemble the system in a complicated way.

The two country flanks of the Pyxis periphery were created on the right and were not centered. As a result, the surface hardly needs to be changed and the loading holes retained. So retrofitting with the system is easier and cheaper.

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Save 3 tons of fuel per day

According to BAR, any mast can 1.5 tons of fuel per day save on. With its 2 masts, Pyxis Ocean can deliver up to 3 tons of fuel per day. This reduces emissions and saves the shipping company money. A ton of heavy fuel oil currently costs about 800 US dollars. This may sound like a lot, but these cargo ships consume anywhere from 25 to 80 tons of fuel per day, depending on their size, tonnage, and speed.

But Barr believes in her system. For newly built ships that have been planned to use Windwings from the start, fuel savings are an issue up to 30 percent maybe. In combination with alternative fuels, greenhouse gas emissions can be further reduced.