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Wind Energy Harvesting for Ship Propulsion Assistance and Power

Project description

Retrofitting commercial vessels with green technologies

Maritime supply chains emit a whopping 940 million tonnes of CO2 each year. In Europe, shipping is a major CO2 emitter, contributing to more than 3 % of the total CO2 emissions in the EU. In this context, the EU-funded WHISPER project will bring together a consortium of experts from around Europe to develop a modular retrofit solution. It includes a wind solar hybrid power system to reduce auxiliary engine emissions. A tilting wingsail system is also included in order to provide wind-assisted propulsion. By developing the novel modular retrofit solution, WHISPER will also test viability by demonstrating efficiency savings of more than 20 %.

Objective

Long-distance maritime transport provides 80-90% of global trade, but strict regulations around NOx, SOx and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are set to cause major technological shifts. Whilst the pathway to achieve the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) target of 50% GHG reduction by 2050 is unclear, what is clear is the need to drastically reduce the industrys dependence on fossil fuels. Liquified natural gas (LNG) is reaching mainstream and provides 20-30% CO2 reduction and other alternative fuels such as ammonia, hydrogen or biofuels could decarbonise much further but face significant barriers concerning financials, resource potential and acceptability. In tandem, considerable fuel and GHG savings could be attained by implementing efficiency measures such as slow-steaming, improved ship design and utilising renewable resources. With wind being a truly maritime feature, the onboard harnessing of wind energy will play an important role in the decarbonization of the long-distance maritime transport industry. However, its uptake has been slow and there are significant challenges to its widespread adoption in the commercial shipping sector. WHISPER will develop a novel modular retrofit solution comprising a wind-solar hybrid power system to significantly reduce auxiliary engine emissions and a tilting wing sail system to provide wind-assisted propulsion significantly reducing main engine fuel consumption and emissions. Wind power will be harnessed through novel containerised turbines which will be demonstrated on an in-service container ship with efficiency savings of 15.3%. WHISPER will prove the technical and financial viability of the complete retrofit solution on in-service bulk carrier vessel, demonstrating efficiency savings of 29.8%.

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Programme(s)

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Topic(s)

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Funding Scheme

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HORIZON-RIA - HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions

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Call for proposal

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

(opens in new window) HORIZON-CL5-2022-D5-01

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Coordinator

VERKIS HF
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.

€ 1 256 148,00
Address
OFANLEITI 2
103 Reykjavik
Iceland

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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.

€ 1 256 148,00

Participants (12)

Partners (1)

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