Decarbonising Shipping: Cleantech Propulsion Technologies

Shipping produces nearly 2% of global greenhouse gas emissions. While this is about seven times less than emissions from road transport, in the current climate crisis it is still nearly 2% too much.

To lessen their environmental impact, shipping companies are investing significant funds into R&D. Since most ships currently use fossil-fuel powered engines, with all the associated emissions, one of the major efforts concerns alternative propulsion technologies.

In this article we look at current advances in wind power technology and the positive impacts on shipping.

WIND POWER

The use of wind energy was the main propulsion technology in shipping for millennia, until it was displaced by the steam engine which in turn was replaced by fossil fuel engines. However, recent developments in wind propulsion have made it technologically and commercially viable again, even for cargo shipping.