Published

2 years ago

March 25, 2024

Alice Rush

Here’s a piece from Fossbytes, the same people who claim that the costs of maintaining EVs is greater than that of gas- and diesel-powered vehicles.

A cargo ship named the Pyxis Ocean equipped with two 123-feet-tall WindWing sails embarked on a journey from China to Brazil last August, aiming to test the efficacy of the wind-powered technology.

After six months of sailing worldwide, Cargill, the ship’s owner, unveiled the results. On average, the Pyxis Ocean saved 3.3 tons of fuel daily.

It showed potential savings exceeding 12 tons per day in favorable weather conditions, resulting in a 14% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.

WindWing’s makers suggest even greater fuel savings with three sails. Although promising, the challenge remains in adapting ports to accommodate such vessels. Cargill is actively engaging with ports globally to address this concern.

A couple of points:

As the wind industry has known for more than a century, the amount of power derived from capturing some of the kinetic energy from moving air is proportional to the area of the blades or sails on which the wind is incident. From the picture above, does it seem possible that huge, ocean-going cargo ships can be powered effectively from these two tiny sails?

It’s interesting that this is an artist’s rendering, rather than a photograph. It is significant that such devices do fact, in fact, exist?

There is no doubt that this will save on fuel. The ships the Vikings piloted around the open seas required no fuel either. If we don’t care how long it takes to ship our goods across the Pacific, perhaps this is a good idea. But of course, we care a great deal about modern supply change logistics.

A Return to Wind-Sailing Cargo Vessels?

Related Topics:EVs Fossbytes Wind-Sailing

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