Giant kites or folding wings: this is what container ships will look like in ...

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Under pressure from regulators to decarbonize international shipping, companies are rushing to find green alternatives to gas-guzzling container ships, which are responsible for 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Many of the ideas circulating today take advantage of some form of high-tech sail, a futuristic version of the wind-powered travel that has transported goods for as long as global trade has existed. Geir Fagerheim, senior vice president of maritime operations at Norwegian shipping company Wallenius Wilhelmsen, told Business Insider that several factors must be taken into account when designing a wind-powered cargo ship, such as safety, functionality, comfort of the crew and, above all, speed. Oceanbird. Oceanbird.Wallenius Marine "There is great pressure to have the shortest possible transit times . But obviously, moving ships very quickly and reducing transit time also has a very high environmental cost in fuel consumption and emissions," he explains.

In collaboration with several partners, the Swedish shipping company Wallenius Marine has developed the " Oceanbird ", a cargo ship powered by retractable wing sails that, according to the company, will be able to transport 7,000 cars and reduce emissions by 90%. Hydrogen reserves are confirmed for centuries, but what color to choose? According to Fagerheim, the development of the technology behind any sustainable cargo ship is impressive in itself, as they must carry Jamaica Mobile Number List all the energy they need with them. Not like, for example, an electric vehicle that can stop on the road to charge. Combined with the lack of emission-free fuel, wind is positioned as the most accessible source of clean energy in the sector. VEER cargo ship renders Courtesy of Veer But the real challenge, according to Fagerheim, is convincing customers to come on board with the ship's slower transit time compared to a traditional container ship. It doesn't matter how innovative the technology itself is, he explained, unless companies accept the idea that a slightly slower delivery time is a worthwhile trade-off.

Together, these two challenges make shipping "the most difficult industry to reduce in terms of carbon emissions," Fagerheim told Business Insider . sail cargo ©PIRIOU / courtesy of TransOceanic Wind Transport But as buyers prioritize sustainability, some big-name brands are committing to using sustainable cargo ships when these designs become a reality. In September, cosmetics giant Lush announced it would ship its products on the first ship built by Veer, a shipbuilder that aims to have two 100% emissions-free container ships on the water by the end of 2024. The company recently received an "initial approval" from the American Bureau of Navigation, a rating that confirms the engineering behind unproven technological concepts. Veer's cargo ship concept employs DynaRig sail technology and eco-friendly hydrogen fuel battery engines to optimize transit times, and is designed to carry only light cargoes.