Numéro : 2813 - Year : 2025
Wind assisted propulsion systems: a key to reduce CO2 and methane emissions
Frédéric DEYBACH - LNG Innovation & Digital Officer, TotalEnergies, Baptiste LAFOUX - R&D Engineer, D-Ice Engineering, Clodoald ROBERT - Director, CNAM - Institut Aérotechnique
In the pursuit of decarbonizing maritime transport, Wind Assisted Propulsion Systems (WAPS) offer a promising, yet often underestimated solution compared to alternative fuels. Direct use of wind energy aligns with energy-saving principles and avoids the complexity of fuel transformation. As adoption grows across vessel types—including LNG carriers—TotalEnergies and its partners have deepened their understanding of WAPS performance and limitations.
This paper presents new insights from wind tunnel tests on two Flettner rotors, revealing aerodynamic interactions that may reduce overall thrust when multiple rotors are used. These findings highlight the need for refined design and validation tools to optimize multi-sail configurations.
Additionally, the study introduces a robust statistical weather routing methodology using both reanalysis and weather forecast data. It quantifies the “Crystal Effect”—the overestimation of savings when relying solely on reanalysis datasets—and explores its correlation with weather prediction uncertainty, wind conditions and ship brake power polar sensitivity. Results across three major LNG trading routes demonstrate fuel savings between 8% and 20%, but also show that weather forecast-based routing is essential to avoid misleading projections.
By combining aerodynamic testing and realistic routing simulations, this work supports informed investment decisions and contributes to the IMO’s decarbonization goals.
This paper is written in English
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