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WindWings

Illustration courtesy Yara Marine Technologies

Yara Marine to Offer Wind Assist Tech to Global Shipping

Mike Schuler
Total Views: 2249
April 19, 2021

Norwegian exhaust gas scrubber company Yara Marine Technologies is joining forces with British-based BAR Technologies to offer commercial-scale wind-assisted propulsion technology to the global shipping industry.

The product is called BARTech WindWings by Yara Marine Technologies, or WindWings for short, a type of rigid sail that can be installed through retrofit or even newbuild as a means of reducing fuel consumption and carbon emissions.

The first commercial retrofit has actually been secured for a Cargill vessel and expected for delivery in 2022.

Under the partnership agreement, Yara Marine will sell WindWings in its portfolio to ship owners globally and manage the value chain of procurement, construction, installation, service and training for the WindWings, while Bar Technologies has committed to continuing to innovate and establish additional WindWings offerings.

According to the two companies, use of WindWings can increase the fuel efficiency of vessels in excess of 30% depending on the installation, with plans to expand their usage to larger and a more diverse range of vessel types.

BAR Technologies was formed in 2016 as a spin-off of the British America’s Cup racing team BAR, founded by competitive sailor and decorated Olympian Ben Ainslie.

“Yara Marine has consistently demonstrated its ability and dedication at providing commercial shipping operators with new emission reducing technologies, throughout the value chain, which made them a natural partner for the program,” said John Cooper, Chief Executive Officer, BAR Technologies. “Working with Yara to deliver the first installation of WindWings for Cargill sets the benchmark as a true industry first, and we believe that the combination of expertise afforded by all parties marks out the technology for long-term commercial success.”

Yara Marine Technologies is a fully owned subsidiary of Yara International, owner of the Yara Birkeland autonomous ship currently under development.

“As we look to set the shipping industry on track to decarbonize, BAR Technologies’ innovative product will be a crucial step on that journey,” added Thomas Koniordos, Chief Executive Officer, Yara Marine Technologies. “We already have most of the value chain set up and we are getting ready to sell and deploy this breath-taking technology.”

Jan Dieleman, President, Ocean Transportation, Cargill, said: “Wind propulsion is increasingly important due to its high energy saving potential and because it works well in any combination with other devices and fuels. WindWings is a novel solution which is a great addition to our toolkit and through our partnership we will bring bespoke wind solutions to customers who are actively seeking to reduce CO2 emissions from their supply chain. We’re pleased that Yara Marine will be partnering with BAR Technologies on WindWings, as it brings our first retrofit ever closer.”

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