One day, perhaps, the vision will be banal, as ships will be equipped with it. Waiting for, THE Canopy stands out at the port of Le Havre, where it waits before its next transatlantic voyage, with these vertical wings which rise from its deck and peak at 37 meters high. “The size of a Haussmann building”, compares Romain Grandsart, deputy general director ofAyrothe start-up which designed them in its factory near Caen.
We can see these wings from afar. But the Oceanwings – their nickname – are not there to look pretty. Nor, moreover, to allow Canopy to go faster. The issue is more about saving fuel and, by extension, reducing its greenhouse gas emissions.
Using the wind to bring Ariane 6 to Kourou
THE Canopy121 meters long and 22 wide, was ordered by Ariane Group*, the Franco-German aerospace group, to transport parts of the Ariane 6 rocket from Europe, where they are built, to the Kourou space center, in Guyana. Since its launch in December, the ship has already made a few return trips. But not yet with his wings. “They were installed in August,” explains Romain Grandsart.
From now on, to move forward, the ship will no longer rely solely on fossil fuel – here diesel** –, but will rely on the power of the wind. In the jargon, we speak of sail propulsion. A good old method which is now enjoying a second wind. This is because international maritime transport is responsible for 3 to 4% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. That is more than a billion tonnes of CO2 per year, which the sector is in a hurry to reduce as quickly as possible. ” In July, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) has adopted new GHG reduction targets, recalls Constance Dijkstra, maritime fuels specialist for theNGO Transport & Environment (T&E). It aims at net zero emissions “around” 2050.” The terms remain vague, “but this new roadmap demonstrates an awareness of maritime freight of the need to catch up,” continues Constance Dijkstra.
Wings from ocean racing
Oceanwings can help, even as secondary energy. “These wings will provide between 15 and 35% of the propulsion energy of the Canopy on his crossings”, table Romain Grandsart. The result is as much fuel savings and fewer emissions. To achieve these ratios, Ayro had to move away from “classic” sails. The inspiration comes much more from aeronautics. “Our wings are not made of a simple flexible membrane, but are semi-rigid and have a thick profile, shaped like an airplane wing,” describes Romain Grandsart. They consist of a main mast and another secondary one. The rear part can then arch, which increases the propulsion power tenfold. And these wings are adjustable, so you can make the most of the wind conditions. »
This technology has already proven itself in offshore racing. This is the beginning of the story: in 2010, the French Marc Van Peteghem, naval architect, team lth trimaran BMW Oracle Racing of a large rigid sail with two elements. Not really a favorite in the first place, the boat produced spectacular results and won the cup. “It was a technological breakthrough, all racing boats are now equipped with it,” says Romain Grandsart. It remained to apply the innovation to the merchant navy. Office VPLP Design by Marc Van Peteghem is tackling this, notably by adding automated wing management, prohibited in racing (it would be too easy!) but which should make life easier on cargo ships***. In 2018, the project led to the creation of Ayro and, quickly, to the first experiments. Particularly on theEnergyObserver, laboratory ship which tests the energies of tomorrow around the world.
Rotor sail, turbo sail, kite wings… And “slow steaming”
All the same, Ayro changes scale with the Canopy. The start-up wants to use it as a demonstrator to convince other cargo ships to equip themselves. “We hope very quickly to reach around a hundred equipped vessels, and projects are underway to adapt the Oceanwings to larger vessels,” announces Romain Grandsart. Ayro is not alone in this. Several companies, including the Atlantic Shipyards in Saint-Nazaire, are also developing concepts for rigid wings. Other avenues of sail propulsion are also being explored. Of the rotor sails to turbo sails, passing through Michelin’s inflatable sailand even the kite wings on which the French are betting Airseas And Beyond the Sea.
Exciting, all that? Constance Dijkstra tempers, fearing that the promised fuel savings will not be so obvious. “The strength of the winds, the direction of the ships, the navigation zone, the type of ship… a lot of parameters come into account,” she says. The global shipowner Maersk, which equipped one of its ships with rotor sails, noted, for example, fuel savings of 8% over one year. For its part, the IMO expects, with sail propulsion, savings of around 2 to 3% in general. »
The exit from heavy fuel oil to keep in the line of sight
This return to the wind of sail propulsion remains an avenue to encourage, we tell T & E. There are others, including one which can be applied quickly, without investment. It’s the slow steaming. In short, reducing the speed of ships, a strategy that companies have already adopted in recent years in the face of soaring maritime fuel prices. For the maritime economist Pierre CariouQuoted by Logistics transport news in December 2019, “reducing speed by 10 to 15%, or from 13 to 11 knots for oil tankers and bulk carriers, and from 17 to 15 knots for container ships, would reduce CO2 emissions by 20 to 30%. » Not nothing then, even if, again, estimates differ.
The advantage is that the sail propulsion and the slow teaming can go hand in hand. It is this intelligent combination that Constance Dijkstra hopes to see as soon as possible. “But that should not make us forget that the main challenge is to get rid of heavy fuel oil, the only fuel used today for 99% of ships… and very carbon-intensive,” she insists. Alternative solutions are emerging, particularly in the area of green hydrogen and e-fuels. But we are still very far from being able to produce them in sufficient quantities and at low cost. “Hence this imperative, for the ships of tomorrow, to consume as little fuel as possible,” points out Romain Grandsart. One more argument for its Oceanwings.