Smart Green Shipping: Fastrigs
Smart Green Shipping (SGS) FastRigs
- Retrofit today with intelligent wingsails – up to 40,000 suitable ships
- Only 25% of the global fleet is prepared for 2023 EEXI and CII regulations
- Drive down short term emissions from a growing fleet
- Reduce demand for new alternative fuels – improve shipping’s zero emission market proposition
- Create green jobs
The Energy Efficiency Existing Ship Index (EEXI) comes into force on Jan 1 2023 alongside a Carbon Intensity Indicator (CII) calculation. The purpose is to reduce the CO2 emissions from ships. By that date ships must reduce their carbon intensity. If they don’t install fuel saving devices they will have to reduce speed which will impact whole supply chains because goods will take longer to deliver.
Wind-assist is the most straightforward way to become beyond-compliant, avoiding fines or detention in port, to maintain operating speeds whilst saving fuel costs.
Smart Green Shipping completed a one year InnovateUK-backed project to develop the design and create the business case for FastRigs. We established clear criteria and supply chain for manufacture and assembly of modular, scalable FastRig retrofit processes. Working collaboratively across the wider shipping industry, shipowners, cargo owners, insurers, Classification Societies, renewables financiers, European Space Agency (ESA) and the Institution of Mechanical Engineers we have a clear view of the market and have a strong customer proposition addressing the obstacles to adoption.
Working with the Wolfson Unit for Marine Technology and Industrial Architecture at Southampton University and America’s Cup weather routers, we verified that the ship studied, the Ultrabulk Tiger, could save at least 20% fuel and GHGs every year on the route from Baton Rouge to Liverpool whilst carrying biomass for Drax the UK’s largest renewable energy producer. The final summary report is available at: https://bit.ly/3xAdypG with results at: https://bit.ly/3s5eNfu and further validated by the Institute of Mechanical Engineers https://bit.ly/3s5gKsg.
FastRigs are designed to significantly reduce fuel-use and GHG emissions, need no additional crew, works with our ESA-backed TradeWind software, making optimsied route-planning simple and quantifiable.
FastRigs are designed to significantly reduce fuel-use and GHG emissions, need no additional crew, works with our ESA-backed TradeWind software, making optimsied route-planning simple and quantifiable. FastRigs retract in unfavourable weather conditions to improve safety and avoid creating additional windage that would need more engine power. Additionally, no port-side infrastructure changes are required because FastRigs fold to allow standard loading and unloading processes.
Our FastRigs customer proposition, created with ship owner input to remove barriers to adoption, is as a lease-financed managed service offset by fuel savings and emissions taxes. Our ‘sail as a service’ offering includes full operation and maintenance support, routing software, crew training, upgrades and insurance to de-risk the decision, encouraging owners to ‘cross the gap’.
FastRig technology is suited to existing commercial vessels with available deck space – dry bulkers and tankers – because freestanding rigs allows access to holds.
FastRigs are constructed from 100% recycled and recyclable materials enabling a ‘circular-economy’ business where materials remain in SGS ownership allowing us to create new regenerative business models.
FastRigs are constructed from 100% recycled and recyclable materials enabling a ‘circular-economy’ business where materials remain in SGS ownership allowing us to create new regenerative business models.This work creates the platform to develop next-generation, 100% renewable-powered, fuel autonomous FastShips that are truly disruptive.
In the next 12 months, we will build working FastRig pilot/test rig on a specific donor vessel (formal agreement in place) to physically validate, tune and productise FastRigs as a commercial offering. The next stage is to fit a commercial Demonstrator for Drax. This work is to be funded by a mix of Grants and equity-investment. Our current business-plan and model provides our KPIs:
- A profitable FastRig retrofitting business with 26 installations by 2026;
- 276 installations by 2030 through licensed sales;
- Accumulated 736,000 MT of fuel saved and proportionate CO2 emission reduction of 2.3M tonnes (based on EEDI reference line calculation)
- By 2032-3 SGS FastRigs will create over 1,000 skilled FTE jobs– with 80% in Fabrication & Engineering.
CURRENT FINANCING STATUS
A £6m budget over 3 years is needed to deliver the pilot FastRig and commercial Demonstrator.
£1m in-kind contributions from Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE), Drax – providing long term charter and NTS Global owner of the test/pilot ship.
£1.8m Grant from Scottish Enterprise
Of the balancing £3.2m match funding the Scottish Government will consider investing £1.6m alongside a private investor.
To accelerate the business to scale and take advantage of the EEXI/CII opportunity the management team estimate a further £5m will be required in month 18.
Our Business Plan and Financials are in our Data Room on the website. Please ask for the password.
More information
| Public funding |
|---|
| £140,000 |