French wind propulsion specialist AYRO has been awarded an Approval in Principle (AiP) for its Oceanwings 3.6.3 wind assisted propulsion system for ships from DNV GL. The Oceanwings 3.6.3 system is designed to enable ship owners and operators to leverage wind energy to improve the energy balance of individual vessels and fleets, thereby significantly reducing carbon emissions.
The wind propulsion system is a 363 square meter 2-elements wingsail several of which can be installed on board cargo vessels. AYRO is now manufacturing four Oceanwings to be fitted on Canopée, a ro-ro vessel under construction for French operator Jifmar Offshore Services at the Neptune Marine shipyard in the Netherlands. This hybridisation system for the propulsion of ships is applicable for both newbuildings and in the retrofit of existing ships.
Following 10 years of research, a first prototype in 2017, and the industrial demonstrator Energy Observer in 2019, AYRO continues the development and industrial process of their system with the AiP from DNV GL. After a review of the main plans and documents of the Oceanwings 3.6.3 system against the relevant DNV GL rules for the classification of ships, DNV GL was able to issue an AiP statement confirming that no significant obstacles exist to prevent the concept from being realised.
As incoming maritime regulations are ramping up, the pressure to improve sustainability and reduce emissions is increasing. The Oceanwings system enables the maritime stakeholders to significantly reduce their greenhouse gases emissions and improve their EEDI or EEXI efficiency index, as part of efforts to comply with the IMO 2030 Greenhouse Gas (GHG) strategy.
“This AiP award is a significant step in the development of AYRO and we are happy to have passed the first step of the on-going certification process of our wingsail. This is the result of the work of the entire technical team over the past few months. The Oceanwings® 3.6.3 are suitable for most types of cargo vessels. We continue to receive a lot of enquiries and numerous requests for feasibility studies from shipowners and charterers worldwide, for both retrofits and newbuilding projects. Our mission and vision is to support them in designing their vessels as well as fitting and maintaining the Oceanwings® in order to help them meet the challenges of competitiveness and GHG emission reductions.”’ said Ludovic Gérard, CEO.
“We are very pleased to be able to issue this AiP to AYRO for its Oceanwings 3.6.3 system,” said Hasso Hoffmeister, Senior Principal Engineer at DNV GL – Maritime. “National and international regulations, in addition to governmental, customer and public are all increasing pressure on the industry to decarbonize. An AiP can help build confidence in shipowners and operators by demonstrating that new technologies can not only help them improve sustainability, but follow well established, trusted and independent standards.”
