Skip to main content
Go to the home page of the European Commission (opens in new window)
English English
CORDIS - EU research results
CORDIS

Ground-breaking retractable ship bow foils for unbeatable cost-saving, emission reduction and motion stabilization

Project description

Safe, steady and sustainable sailing through the waves thanks to smart equipment

The safe and stable navigation under circumstances of tumultuous water is a great challenge for medium-sized vessels. Bad weather navigation affects the speed of the boat as well as the health and well-being of the crew. Moreover, it increases fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. The EU-funded SmartWings project will introduce a unique solution for ship stabilisation and forward thrust for medium-size ships. Through the innovative production of the first-ever retractable bow foils, SmartWings aims to offer a cut-rate tool for stable ship motion, contributing to the transition to zero-emission navigation.

Objective

Medium-size ships navigating in waves suffer up to 100% higher resistance than in calm water. This added resistance has several
consequences: 1) dramatic speed loss, 2) increase of fuel consumption and CO2 emissions, and 3) dangerous roll (side to side) and
pitch (up and down) movement that causes seasickness and decreases crew productivity. Adding wings or foils to a ship bow can use wave energy to propel the ship forward and damp roll and pitch motions, stabilizing the ship. However, navigating with bow foils is counterproductive in certain situations, such as in calm or extreme weather, where the foils increase the ship resistance. A retraction and storage mechanism for the foils in these situations is desired, but until now no practical solution had been developed for bow foils retraction.

We, at Wavefoil, have developed the first ever retractable bow foils. Combining the use of strong and flexible composite materials with an
innovative and patent-pending vertical retraction mechanism, we have developed the first and only retractable bow foil modules that fit the narrow bow of any vessel. Our bow foils: 1) reduce the energy consumed to propel the ship by 5-20%, 2) reduce pitch and roll motion, promoting a more comfortable and productive trip, 3) can be retracted/deployed to optimize the ship performance for any given situation. Our unique foil retraction system allows, for the first time ever, to exploit the full range of benefits of bow foils. The SmartWings project aims to mature and bring to market a unique solution for ship stabilization and forward thrust for medium-size ships. The retractable foils will become our gold-standard product and will boost Wavefoil growth, generating €75m profits and 26 new job positions by 2027. In this time, commercialization will save 1,097k tonnes of CO2(eq) emissions and €179m for global shipping. Zero-emission ships are facilitated as they will need less reserve battery capacity to traverse rough seas.

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.

You need to log in or register to use this function

Keywords

Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)

Programme(s)

Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.

Topic(s)

Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.

Funding Scheme

Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.

SME-2 - SME instrument phase 2

See all projects funded under this funding scheme

Call for proposal

Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.

(opens in new window) H2020-EIC-SMEInst-2018-2020

See all projects funded under this call

Coordinator

WAVEFOIL AS
Net EU contribution

Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.

€ 2 110 092,25
Address
HAVNEGATA 7
7010 Trondheim
Norway

See on map

SME

The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.

Yes
Region
Norge Trøndelag Trøndelag
Activity type
Private for-profit entities (excluding Higher or Secondary Education Establishments)
Links
Total cost

The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.

€ 3 014 417,50
My booklet 0 0