Industrial, Wind  -  August 23, 2023

Cargill Adopts Wind Tech

Food company Cargill tested new technology that will bring wind propulsion to commercial shipping.

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. 

The wing sails were produced by industrialization partner Yara Marine Technologies and are expected to generate average fuel savings of up to 30% on new build vessels, which could increase if it it is 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 conducting its 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, in a statement. “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 WindWings project, which is co-funded by the European Union as part of the CHEK Horizon 2020 initiative, can help the industry meet decarbonization targets by offering a retrofit solution that is capable of decarbonizing existing vessels, which is particularly relevant given that 55% of the world’s bulker fleets are up to nine years old.

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. 

On an average global route, WindWings can save 1.5 tons of fuel per WindWing per day. More savings are possible on trans-ocean routes. This can translate into vessel owners saving heavy fuel oil (HFO) at c$800 per ton.

Read These Related Articles:

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