Consultancy BAR Technologies (BAR) has announced an expansion of its partnership with WindWaves (formerly Nervion Naval Offshore), a pioneer in floating offshore wind platforms, for the latter to manufacture, sell, and deliver BAR’s new 20/24m WindWings wing sail design within Europe.
In February 2024 the two companies announced a similar deal for the larger 37.5m WindWings. The deal will give European customers, and customers using drydocks in the region, access to an enhanced provision of products across the WindWings range.
Under the terms of the agreement, Spanish company WindWaves will manage the value chain of procurement and construction of 20m and 24m WindWings, and their installation at shipyards across Europe. Additionally, WindWaves will manage the servicing of WindWings during their operational life cycle, alongside crew training on the operation of the wing sails.
The new 20-24m WindWings models are a compact and lightweight version of the original patented three-element design, which is estimated to save more than 500t of CO2 per WindWing per year at less than five years payback.
Following the success of the original launch, BAR’s latest product is aimed at handysize bulkers, chemical tankers, and smaller vessels, increasing the target fleet size by 50%, making wind-assisted propulsion (WAP) technology accessible to a broader range of vessels. Weighing less than 30t, the new range are economic and simple to fit on both newbuilds and retrofits.
John Cooper, CEO, BAR Technologies, said: “We are delighted to expand on our existing relationship with WindWaves, a business with a proud legacy in wind energy manufacturing. Having previously agreed a deal for the manufacture and supply of our 37.5m WindWings variant, it’s incredibly exciting to be bringing our newest, and more compact, 20m-24m models to the European market, signalling an expansion to a huge market of smaller vessels, and further enhancing the geographical availability of our WindWings technology.”
Roberto Bouzas, GM, WindWaves, added: “Shipping is in the midst of enormous transformational change, both in terms of regulations and commercial needs. Benefitting from our history in manufacturing for the wind sector, we look forward to supporting BAR Technologies with their new 20m-24m WindWings, and continuing the trajectory towards a cleaner and decarbonised global shipping sector.”
WindWings’ fuel-saving capabilities were first independently validated by DNV Maritime in May 2024. Their deployment on vessels such as the Pyxis Ocean and Berge Olympus has already demonstrated a 32% reduction in energy use per nautical mile, said to solidify WindWings as a reliable and independently validated choice for shipowners.
Image: WindWings enhanced partnership (source: BAR Technologies)
