SGS launches FastRig wing sail technology for shipping

Smart Green Shipping (SGS) has launched a £5m research and development project for its FastRig wing sail technology and digital routing software.  The technology will harness the power of wind to deliver fuel and emissions savings for the shipping industry.

The collaborative programme has been made possible by a £3.2m investment from the private sector, which unlocked a further £1.8m grant from Scottish Enterprise.

A three-year project backed by the Scottish Government and industry will develop and test fully automated sail technology that can be retrofitted to merchant ships.

Over the course of the project, SGS will initially test its FastRig wing sails at a land-based site at Peel Ports Hunterston Port and Resource Centre in collaboration with Clyde-based specialist engineering partner Malin.

It will further develop its weather routing TradeWind software that creates route plans for wind optimisation. Following successful land-based tests, a demonstrator on board a vessel is expected by 2023.

Other industry partners include Drax and Lloyd’s Register, which has granted first-stage approval in principle for the FastRig technology, which augments a ship’s powertrain.

SGS said the FastRig technology is expected to benefit up to 40,000 vessels in the global merchant fleet, primarily bulker and tanker ships.