German Windassist projects make progress

The Emden/Leer University of Applied Sciences, in cooperation with the Fraunhofer Institute and Mariko GmbH, among others, is conducting research into the design and application of sailing cargo ships. The first results of several ongoing projects were recently published.

Despite the fact that there are already quite a few ships sailing around with wind propulsion, the development and optimisation of this technology is of course not standing still.

Within the FlettnerFLEET project, the first tow tests of a newly designed ship model have been successfully completed. The project focuses on developing Flettner rotor technology and optimising ship designs for its use.

The RASANT project presented the first concept design of a general cargo ship, developed in cooperation with German shipping company Rörd Braren, which currently already operates a Flettner-rotor vessel. The aim of RASANT is to design a climate-neutral cargo ship suitable for modern maritime traffic. The concept envisages nine fixed-wing sails, which should provide more than 50% of propulsion on average.

Earlier, the same partners worked on the design of the Juren Ae, a sailing freighter now operating around the Marshall Islands. In cooperation with the Port Museum in Hamburg, an exhibition on the project will be set up on board the historic Peking this autumn. There are also plans to develop a larger variant of the Juren Ae for German shipping company Timbercoast, known for the sailing freighter Avontuur.

Sources and image: the FlettnerFleet and Rasant websites.

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