MOL Jointly Develops New Energy-saving Sail to Boost Ship Propulsion-Utilizing Wind as Clean Energy

TOKYO : Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL; President & CEO: Takeshi Hashimoto) announced that MOL, MOL Drybulk, Ltd. (MOL Drybulk; President: Kazuhiko Kikuchi; Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo), Oshima Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. (President: Eiichi Hiraga; Headquarters: Saikai City, Nagasaki Prefecture), and Iknow Machinery Co., Ltd. (Chairman and President: Shinji Nonaka; Headquarters: Sasebo, Nagasaki Prefecture) have reached an agreement on joint research and development (R&D) of the “Iknow Delta Sail Crane (Delta Sail, Fig.1 below)”, a sail that can be mounted on ships’ cargo handling cranes and similar equipment to boost propulsion force.

The joint R&D project aims at reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from vessels while underway, by unfurling the sail placed on ship such as triangular parts of existing cargo handling cranes to use offshore winds to provide additional propulsion force.

Many MOL Drybulk-operated vessels are equipped with cargo handing cranes, and the company plans to study the installation of the Delta Sail on a broad range of ship types, such as bulkers, wood chip carriers, and multi-purpose vessels.

Through five initiatives, MOL group is working to achieve the Medium-to long-term targets in the ‘MOL Group Environmental Vision 2.1’, including “achieve net zero GHG emissions by 2050.”
Through this joint R&D project, MOL group strives to reduce GHGs in clean energy supply chains (Fig.2 below) with industrial leaders by one of the initiatives “Enhancement of Energy-Saving Technologies (Fig.3 below)” in addition to our existing environment-friendly technologies using offshore winds such as Wind Challenger/Wind Hunter Project (Note 1).

Note 1)
Wind Challenger Project
Concept video: “For the future of the planet, We challenge with the Wind” Wind Challenger Project – MOL – YouTube

This has the potential to achieve 5% to 8% reduction in GHG emissions by reducing bunker oil consumption through the use installation of a telescoping hard sail that converts wind energy to propulsive force.
(Please refer to October 3, 2019, press release: “Wind Challenger” Design Acquires Preliminary Approval – Realizing Japan’s 1st Large Cargo Ship with ‘Sail’, Aiming at Reduction of GHGs –)

MOL has already placed an order with Oshima Shipbuilding for construction of the first vessel to be equipped with the Wind Challenger—a coal carrier, slated to start operation in 2022 supplying Tohoku Electric Power Co.,Inc.
(Please refer to December 10, 2020, press release: MOL, Tohoku Electric Power Sign Deal for Transport Using Coal Carrier Equipped with Hard Sail Wind Power Propulsion System (Wind Challenger) -Aiming to Reduce Environmental Impact and Boost Economic Efficiency by Introducing World’s 1st Coal Carrier Equipped with a ‘Sail’-)

Wind Hunter Project
The ultimate zero emission driving project, which combines wind propulsion sailing technology and wind energy converted to generate a stable supply of hydrogen.
(Please refer to November 30, 2020, press release: “Wind Hunter Project” Starts -Zero-Emission Project with Wind Propulsion and Hydrogen-)

Source : MOL Lines