Those gigantic cargo ships that make our globalized economy possible also happen to be polluting-spewing behemoths. The shipping industry is responsible for 3-4% of the entire world’s greenhouse gas emissions, and at least one study estimated that the 15 biggest cargo ships release as much sulphur, nitrogen oxide, and particulate matter as all of the world’s cars combined.The International Maritime Organization got the memo, and imposed new rules on shipping pollution, starting next year. Companies must cut pollution by 20% by 2020, and another 50% by 2050. So the industry is seeking out new, low-carbon shipping technology. So here’s the latest idea: Sails.Not the massive masts that adorned the galleons of yore, but hi-tech, self-adjusting, wind-optimizing wingsails.The idea has been floating around for a while now, but at least one company has just gotten serious about deploying the old-school tech. It’s called PropelWind, and it has a prototype that would allow giant merchant ships—cargo vessels and cruise liners—to harness the power of the wind alongside more traditional motors. The CEO’s name is Patrick Englebert, and he wants to bring the super-efficient technology used by sport sailing vessels for shipping.Whiteboard Magazine details his proposal:Basically, his plan is to fit 80 meter wingsails on cargo ships – in other words, a sail of about 20 floors. Englebert thought he could improve on existing wind propulsion ideas by using techniques from sports sailing – specifically, the innovations in solid wingsails like those that Larry Ellison’s America’s Cup use. The advantages of wingsails don’t just work for sports boats, Englebert thought: they would also make it economically feasible to use them on large, seagoing ships.
On a sport sailing ship, it looks like this:The company has attracted nearly $1 million in investment from over a dozen serious backers, he says, and they’ve got an ambitious business plan. Within mere years, there should be a sea-ready pre-prototype ship sporting windsails.Other companies, like B9 are pursuing similar aims. It looks to build carbon neutral cargo ships that are powered 60% by wind and 40% by biogas generated from food waste. Here’s the mockup of its flagship:
It’s all pretty interesting stuff; these companies believe that they can deliver cleaner, less polluting ships without sacrificing too much speed or dependability. In other words, they think the ginormous cargo ships of the future might look more like the old galleon freighters than the hulking flat ships of today. Or at least they’ll be a sleeker, more versatile hybrid of the two.
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