Cargill and BAR Technologies’ Ground-Breaking Wind Technology Sets Sail, Chartering a New Lower-Carbon Path for the Maritime Industry

Cargill and BAR Technologies’ ground-breaking innovation, BAR Tech WindWings by Yara Marine sets sail on open waters, testing new technology that will bring cutting edge wind propulsion to commercial shipping for the first time.

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Mitsubishi Corporation’s Pyxis Ocean, chartered by Cargill, is the first vessel to be retrofitted with two WindWings, which are large wing sails measuring up to 37,5 meters in height that can be fitted to the deck of cargo ships to harness the power of wind. Produced by industrialization partner Yara Marine Technologies, they are expected to generate average fuel savings of up to 30 percent on new build vessels, which could be even higher if used in combination with alternative fuels. The installation of the wings took place at the COSCO shipyard in China and the Pyxis Ocean is now on the water, conducting her maiden voyage.

“The maritime industry is on a journey to decarbonize—it's not an easy one, but it is an exciting one,” said Jan Dieleman, President of Cargill’s Ocean Transportation business. “At Cargill we have a responsibility to pioneer decarbonizing solutions across all our supply chains to meet our customer’s needs and the needs of the planet. A technology like WindWings doesn’t come without risk, and as an industry leader – in partnership with visionary shipowner Mitsubishi Corporation - we are not afraid to invest, take those risks and be transparent with our learnings to help our partners in maritime transition to a more sustainable future.”

The installation demonstrates a step-change in attitudes towards technologies that can enable an energy transition for existing vessels. The WindWings project, which is co-funded by the European Union as part of the CHEK Horizon 2020 initiative, can help the industry meet those targets by offering a retrofit solution that is capable of decarbonizing existing vessels, which is particularly relevant given that 55 percent of the world’s bulker fleets are up to nine years in age.

The performance of the WindWings will be closely monitored over the coming months to further improve their design, operation, and performance, with the aim that the Pyxis Ocean will be used to inform the scale-up and adoption across not only Cargill’s fleet but the industry. BAR Technologies and Yara Marine Technologies are already planning to build hundreds of wings over the next four years and BAR Technologies is also researching newbuilds with improved hydrodynamic hull forms.

“If international shipping is to achieve its ambition of reducing CO2 emissions, then innovation must come to the fore. Wind is a near marginal cost-free fuel and the opportunity for reducing emissions, alongside significant efficiency gains in vessel operating costs, is substantial. Today is the culmination of years of pioneering research, where we’ve invested in our unique wind sail technology and sought out a skilled industrialization partner in Yara Marine Technologies, in order to provide vessel owners and operators with an opportunity to realize these efficiencies,” said John Cooper, Chief Executive Officer, BAR Technologies.

More about the WindWing Project

• The WindWing project is part of a project that has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 955286.
• By harnessing the power of wind, WindWings can help vessel owners meet new CII rules. As wind power is not only zero emissions but is also non-depleting and hugely predictable, it offers significant efficiency gains in vessel operating costs.
• On an average global route, WindWings can save 1.5 tonnes of fuel per WindWing per day - with the possibility of saving more on trans ocean routes. This can translate into vessel owners saving heavy fuel oil (HFO) at c$800 per tonne, which will become even more important when saving against future fuels which will undoubtedly cost a lot more.

About Cargill

Cargill helps the world’s food system work for you. We connect farmers with markets, customers with ingredients and families with daily essentials—from the foods they eat to the floors they walk on. Our 160,000 team members around the world innovate with purpose, empowering our partners and communities as we work to nourish the world in a safe, responsible, sustainability way.

From the feed that reduces methane emissions to waste-based renewable fuels, the possibilities are boundless. But our values remain the same. We put people first. We reach higher. We do the right thing. It’s how we’ve met the needs of the people we call neighbors and the planet we call home for 158 years—and how we’ll do so for generations to come. For more information, visit Cargill.com and our News Center.

About BAR Technologies

With an impressive heritage, having originally spun out from the former British, America’s Cup Team, BAR Tech provides a wide range of design and engineering consultancy services with a focus on 4 key sectors; Workboats and Commercial Vessels, Shipping, Special Projects and Leisure Marine and Yachts.

BAR Technologies offer a cohesive team of world lead naval architects and optimisation specialists; fluid dynamists; mechanical, structural and composite engineers; control strategy and system specialists; they offer data and simulation engineers with access to the latest commercial knowledge, using bespoke in-house design tools.

For more details please visit: https://www.bartechnologies.uk/

About Yara Marine Technologies

Yara Marine (YMT) provides technologies to enable a greener maritime industry. Since 2010, YMT has been at the forefront of maritime emissions reduction, working closely with ship-owners, yards, and naval architects as partners in our effort to drive the change towards sustainable shipping. Today, Yara Marine offers a portfolio of green technologies, such as SOx scrubbers, fuel optimization systems – FuelOpt and Fleet Analytics, turnkey shore power solutions, and the cutting-edge, advanced wind-assisted propulsion system WindWings. Yara Marine is headquartered in Oslo, Norway, with offices in Sweden, Poland, and China.

To learn more, please visit www.yaramarine.com or follow YMT on LinkedIn.

About Mitsubishi Corporation

Head Office: 3-1, Marunouchi 2-Chome, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, 100-8086, Japan
Representative: Katsuya Nakanishi, Representative Director, President and Chief Executive Officer
Date Established: July 1, 1954 (Date Registered April 1, 1950)
Main Operations: MC engages in a wide range of businesses spanning multiple industries and overseen by its Industry DX Group, Next-Generation Energy Business Group and 10 Business Groups: Natural Gas, Industrial Materials, Chemicals Solution, Mineral Resources, Industrial Infrastructure, Automotive & Mobility, Food Industry, Consumer Industry, Power Solution, and Urban Development.

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Contact information

Nicole Marlor, media@cargill.com