The sails of the cargo ship Pyxis Ocean follow the path of decarbonization

Telescopic sails tested by the cargo ship Pyxis Ocean show us how maritime trade of the future could travel.But to make it present we need to perfect technologies and stimulate large-scale change.

Looking at it brings to mind that old story, formulated unknown and erroneously attributed even to Albert Einstein, according to which, according to the laws of physics, the bumblebee's wing structure is insufficient to allow it to fly.Nonetheless, he flies.In the 1930s, the French entomologist Antoine Magnan discovered that his calculations were wrong:nature and science demonstrated that the bumblebee was able to fly.Now, with technological progress the dilemmas have changed, but science continues to subvert what seems unlikely:it is possible to build one cargo ship of over 42 tons able to navigate thanks to two sails capable of reduce emissions Of over 30 percent?Well, the Pyxis Ocean, a British-designed cargo ship – currently on its maiden voyage from Shanghai to Brazil – confirms that it is possible.

The maiden voyage of the Pyxis Ocean

At the beginning of August the bulk carrier Pyxis Ocean set sail from the port of Shanghai bound for the port of Pranagua, Brazil.Owned by Mitsubishi, it was leased from food giant Cargill, specializing in large-scale trading of grains and seeds.But the voyage of the Pyxis Ocean marks a potential turning point in the field of green shipping, since the cargo ship is using two large telescopic sails which will allow you to join the wind push to traditional combustion propulsion.The sails are able to fold when the ship is in port, while in the open sea they can be unfurled by reaching 37 meters high by 20 meters long.They were made with the same material as the wind turbines, in order to make them more resistant and able to withstand the wear dictated by long outdoor exposures during crossings.A true miracle of naval engineering.

The sails of the Pyxis Ocean are not the brainchild of some visionary inventor.They fit into a project named Windwings, which benefited from funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme.This type of sails is designed to reduce fuel consumption and therefore the growing level of emissions generated especially by cargo ships during navigation.Jan Dieleman, president of Cargill ocean transportation, said the industry is embarking on a “journey towards decarbonisation”.He admitted that there is "no silver bullet" but said that this technology has shown that things are changing.

The environmental impact of traditional navigation

Currently they are approx 50 thousand commercial ships operating in the oceans.More than 90 percent of the goods in circulation transit along maritime routes, fueling an industry that is expected to reach 12 billion dollars – over 11 billion euros – by 2027.For decades the maritime transport has continued to entrust this gigantic volume of business to fleets of traditional ships, which spill large quantities of fuel directly into the sea, contributing to the global increase in CO2 emissions.In fact, Soi estimates that the entire sector is responsible for 837 million tonnes of CO2 produced every year, which represents 2.1 percent of the total.

A fact that new navigation methods - although still in the launch phase - could help to reduce.The installation of the two sails on board the Pyxis Ocean is expected to decrease by 30 percent emissions produced by the merchant ship during until its decommissioning.A line that some companies active in the oceans are adhering to, but which struggles to become a structural requirement of the fleet of commercial ships of the future.Stephen Gordon, chief executive of marine data firm Clarksons Research, told the BBC that it has “doubled the number of ships using this technology in the last twelve months.However, this is a low starting point.In the international maritime fleet and in the newbuilding order book of over 110 thousand ships,  less than 100 today they have wind power technology.The maritime industry does not yet have a clear path to decarbonisation and, given the scale of the challenge and the diversity of the global maritime fleet, it is unlikely that there is a single solution for the industry in the short or medium term,” concluded Gordon .

Decarbonizing maritime transport

A fact that makes it clear that this is only the beginning of a long, although necessary, process.What slows things down is the fact that the large freight ship system has always been one of the most difficult to transform.Despite the many positive experiments currently in place around the world, the decarbonisation of the sector appears to be one long and tortuous crossing.Over the years there has been talk of introducing new fuels such as biofuels, the availability of which appears limited to satisfy the large needs of the sector.The German association Nabu, very active on these issues, proposes theadoption of Rfnbos (renewable fuels of non-biological origin) such as ammonia.Methanol is being studied and also the application of hydrogen systems where they exist cost and storage problems.

Difficulties that Pyxis Ocean telescopic sails could lend a hand to.According to what was reported to the BBC by John Cooper, head of bar Technologies, "a single sail on is able to save approximately one and a half tons of fuel per day”.However, the technology can be installed on a still small percentage of more recent production ships.Another fact that makes the possibility of extending this technology not only to the most modern fleets with the highest turnover, but above all to the large groups of ships of developing countries, far away.Again, the effectiveness of a clean technology lies in the ease of replicating it.A dilemma which, this time, cannot be left to science, but which requires political vision.