Ventifoil

0 Reviews
0 Followers
2 Deploys

A solution for harnessing wind to save fuel in shipping

Page last modified
August 4 2023

Econowind manufactures Ventifoils for the shipping industry. The Ventifoils enable ships fitted with them to save fuel by utilizing the wind. Econowind offers three configurations of Ventifoil; Container, Flatrack and Retrofit.

Container: The eConowind-unit is a 40ft sea container with 2 Ventifoils folded inside. This makes it very flexible and useable by a variety of vessels. All the electronics and hydraulics needed to operate the unit are integrated in the container. The only support form the vessel to the unit is a 400-460V, 3 phase, 50-60Hz power connection. During heavy and/or unfavourable weather the Ventifoils can be folded back into the container for easy storage.

Flatrack: The Flatrack Ventifoil unit is mounted on container corner castings so it's easily (re)moveable with the hatch crane. Needing no harbour equipment for moving the system gives it flexibility in use. The Flatrack is adjusted to the size of the vessel. All the electronics and hydraulics are integrated into the unit, so it only needs a 400-460V, 3 phase, 50-60Hz power connection. During heavy and/or unfavourable weather the Ventifoil can be folded down and locked into the Flatrack.

Retrofit: The retrofit Ventifoils are permanently attached to the vessel, with as a main advantage that the size of the ventifoil are not limited by the container or the size of the flatrack. The Ventifoils are able to rotate around their axis and fold down so you can access the cargo  All the electronics and hydraulics need some integrating into the ship. This consists of 1 or 2 HPU's and 1 electronics case. During heavy and/or unfavourable weather the Ventifoils can be lowered into support braces that are lashed to the deck.

Pro/con

Fuel saving
Reduction of EEXI
Extra speed
No wind, no power
Investment cost

Specification

Power 250 kW-1000 kW.
Areas of application Ocean merchant shipping.
Installation (Container) Easy installation at container positions by means of twist locks.
Installation (Flatrack) Easy placement on the deckhatches by means of twistlocks, does need some integration to be operable for the bridge.
Installation (Retrofit) Fixed position on the deck of the ship (usually the bow), needs some integration for hydrolics and electronics.

Relative Business Impact

Reviews

Get access to reviews

to your explorer or platform subscription to get access to the reviews written about this technology.

Technology Readiness Level

[7/9]

Development Technology demonstration Mature / Proven
Ask the supplier
 to contact this technology supplier.

eConowind is a SME solely developing and producing wind propulsion units.

Technologies Deployed By
Get access to track record

to your explorer or platform subscription to get access to the track record of this technology.