Power utility Drax Group and Smart Green Shipping are partnering to develop and use wind-assisted FastRig technology to help decarbonise their shipping activities.
Drax will put GBP1 million (USD1.3 million) into the initiative, matched by the UK Government Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition (CMDC) grant. Smart Green Shipping’s lightweight, retractable wingsail will be installed on a vessel, to demonstrate how the technology can reduce fuel consumption and resulting emissions by up to 30 percent per year.
Smart Green Shipping is currently carrying out sea trials of FastRig on one of Nuclear Transport Solutions’ purpose-built ship designed to carry nuclear energy cargoes, Pacific Grebe. These trials will finish at the end of October 2024, with the performance data being verified independently before being sent back to Smart Green Shipping.
If successful, work to install the technology on a commercial biomass vessel can commence. It could also prove vital to further reduce supply chain emissions from the bulk transport of Drax’s sustainable biomass, which is used to produce around 8 percent of the UK’s renewable power.
Drax’s investment in the project will also be used to helo develop Smart Green Shipping’s other wind-assist solutions, including FastRoute, which combines AI with other software to analyse weather data and optimise routes for ships designed to harness wind power. FastRoute uses historical and forecast weather data to predict how FastRig will perform, optomising journeys for FastRing-equipped vessels.
“Wind is abundant, free, and exclusively available to any ship equipped to use it,” said Diane Gilpin, ceo and founder of Smart Green Shipping. “Smart Green Shipping shares a joint mission with Drax Group to use renewables to move renewables. We are immensely grateful for the support from Drax Group to create seamless and easy-to-access wind solutions for cargo owners and ship owners.”
Miguel Veiga Pestana, chief sustainability officer at Drax, added: “Smart Green Shipping’s technology represents a landmark moment for the maritime energy transition and Drax is proud to provide this funding, which re-affirms our commitment to becoming a carbon-negative business by 2030.”
