OPTImised WInd Supported vEssels

Project Information

OPTIWISE

Grant agreement ID: 101056769

DOI

10.3030/101056769

Project closed

EC signature date 4 May 2022

Start date 1 June 2022

End date 31 May 2025

Funded under

• Climate, Energy and Mobility

Total cost

€ 4 660 337,50

EU contribution

€ 4 660 337,00

Coordinated by

STICHTING MARITIEM RESEARCH INSTITUUT NEDERLAND
Netherlands

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - OPTIWISE (OPTImised WInd Supported vEssels)

Reporting period: 2022-06-01 to 2023-11-30

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

OPTIWISE set out in 2022 to develop and employ holistic design and control methods for ground-breaking new ship concepts utilising wind propulsion while considering realistic operational scenarios. The consortium is coordinated by MARIN and supported by partners CORE, SSPA/RISE, Anemoi, Ayro, Chantiers de l'Atlantique, FIMC, Wartsila Netherlands, UNIGE, and Euronav. With this mix of expertise and knowledge the relevant aspects of WASP ship design are covered. The project is organised in 5 technical WPs covering ship design (WP 1) and economic assessment (WP 5) which support the designs of three ships with three WASP systems in WP 2, 3, and 4. The WASP systems and ship designs considered are a bulk carrier with Anemoi rotor sails (WP 2), a tanker with Ayro oceanwings (WP 3), and a passenger vessel with CdA Solid sail (WP 4).

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

During the first 18 months of the project WP 1 delivered the design workflows and coupling of the numerical models to optimise the ship designs and WASP configurations. Both MARIN and SSPA/RISE have developed workflows utilising their tools to be applied to the ship designs in WP 2, 3, and 4. WP 1 also developed an energy management system to assist the crew in optimising the operations considering the energy balance and optimisation of the WASP system considering the environmental conditions. In WP 5 the economic and business assessment methods are under development, including the human interaction with the systems. For this, bridge simulations are scheduled at MARIN and SSPA/RISE for which the preparations have started in this reporting period.
During the BlueWeek in 2023 the OPTIWISE project invited stakeholders to share their considerations and concerns regarding WASP. Stakeholders indicated the main concerns being operational concerns including cargo handling and port manoeuvring. OPTIWISE will address some of these operational concerns in the second half of the project during the bridge simulator tests.
For the concept designs WP 2, 3, and 4 have completed the concept designs and have commenced with the detailed designs using the WP 1 models. For all WASP systems improvements to the systems have been studied using numerical models, wind tunnel tests (WP 3) and full-scale tests (WP 2 and WP 4).
In the remainder of the project OPTIWISE partners will continue with the WASP vessel designs and evaluation of the designs using WP 5 methods. Additionally, the design methods and workflows will be evaluated together with the design partners. OPTIWISE will actively disseminate the project results and will be visible at TRA and other conferences promoting the project results and the support the project received through the Horizon Europe programme.
The OPTIWISE project is well on its way to achieve the objectives set out in the proposal. The consortium sails on favourable winds from the sector and can rely on interest from key stakeholders to bring this project to a good end and exploit the project results to its fullest.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

OPTIWISE aims to provide an outstanding scientific contribution in innovative ship design, impacting both society and the shipping market by enabling and facilitating the application of new and improved wind-propulsion technologies in shipping. The wind-propulsion technologies are applied with an overall system thinking to reach optimized vessels in the logistics system of a wide range of vessel segments and markets.
WP6, developed the OPTIWISE Communication & Dissemination plan (D6.1) at the beginning of the project with focus on capturing and strategically directing specific WP communication and dissemination opportunities. WP7 aligns with WP6 to ensure communication efforts are impact focused, and key messages linked to results are tailored to specific audiences.