More than 10,000 ships could be using wind propulsion systems by 2030, a study commissioned by the European Commission (EC) has found.
Conducted by the EC’s DG Climate Action, the study focuses on the direct utilisation of wind-assisted propulsion for commercial ships.
Trusted information on the performance of such systems along with problematic access to capital for the development of this technology have been the main barriers so far, DG Climate Action noted.
The study was based on models used to determine power savings for six sample ships across their AIS-recorded voyage profiles.
It was found that savings are higher for bulk carriers.
According to the study, should wind propulsion systems reach marketability in 2020, the number of bulkers, tankers and containers to use them would be between 3,700 and 10,700 until 2030.
CO2 savings would be around 3.5-7.5mt in 2030 while the wind propulsion sector would create as many as 8,000 direct jobs.
