Norsepower Receives €2.6 Million Funding for Bunker Saving Rotor Sail Tech

by Ship & Bunker News Team
Wednesday August 24, 2016

Norsepower Oy Ltd. (Norsepower) Wedensday announced that it has received €2.6 million ($2.93 million) from the European Commission (EC) and Finland's funding agency for innovation, Tekes, , in order to support the research and development (R&D) of its Rotor Sail Solution technology, including the development of the world's largest Flettner rotor.

"We are extremely grateful to Tekes and to the European Commission. Their decisions are a clear vote of confidence in Norsepower’s ability to realise the commercial potential of our Rotor Sail Solution," said Tuomas Riski, CEO of Norsepower.

"We intend to use this recognition and the momentum we have now created to accelerate its development and create the world’s largest Rotor Sail capable of bigger emissions reductions and better fuel savings."

Norsepower notes that the Tekes funding will also be used to support the development of multi-functional features in the system, which the company says may have not otherwise been possible, and speed the new Rotor Sails' arrival to market.

As Ship & Bunker has previously reported, data collected from the 9,700 DWT ro-ro carrier MS Estraden, when equipped with two of Norsepower's smaller rotor sails, demonstrated a 6.1 percent reduction in fuel consumption.

Norsepower says that independent data analysis suggests that a fuel savings of as much as 25 percent can be gleaned by using sufficient sized Rotor Sails on routes with favourable wind flows, and while operating at appropriate service speeds.

"Our Rotor Sails have the power to reinvent the existing market and make auxiliary wind propulsion a natural choice for merchant shipping," said Jarkko Väinämö, CTO at Norsepower.

"What is really exciting for us is the ability to leverage our existing knowledge and expertise to continue to offer an easy to use, hybrid propulsion solution that enables significant fuel savings and emissions reductions."

As Ship & Bunker reported in May, Riski said there is "no denying" that propulsion powered by renewable energy sources is the future of the maritime industry.