Smart Green Shipping - Solid Sails with Di Galpin and Dr Joseph Banks

Your Green Voice

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Thursday, 17 October 2024 - 23 minutes

Xan Phillips: You're listening to Southampton's Voice FM. My name is Xan, and welcome to Your Green Voice. Now, if there's one subject that brings us together, it's pollution in our water. Many people are upset about the quantities going into our rivers and then onto the sea. But what you may not realise is that shipping also contributes a lot of pollution while transporting our goods and passengers across the oceans.

One company that's come up with a solution to alleviate the burden is Smart Green Shipping, who believe that adding solid sails that wind assist tankers and merchant ships will have a very positive effect. And the first ship with a fast rig is about to be launched in Southampton. Here to tell us more is founder of Smart Green Shipping, Di Gilpin, and with her, Dr Joseph Banks, a lecturer in Maritime Engineering at the University of Southampton.

A very good afternoon to you, Di and Joan. 

Di Gaplin: Hello, thank you. 

Xan Phillips: Di, we'll start with you as the founder. Was it engineering or the environment part of your mind that thought this idea could work? 

Di Gaplin: Environment. I mean, at heart, I'm a climate activist, but I'm, I'm not particularly involved in any of the more high profile climate activists.

I think what we need to do is find pragmatic solutions. workable solutions that make a significant impact in carbon emission reduction. So shipping is moving about 95 percent of everything that we consume every day. And the global fleet contributes something like 3 percent of total greenhouse gas emissions.

And that is still rising because the fleet is growing. So 3%, that doesn't sound like very much, but it's still rising. You know, it's as much as Germany or Japan, three times as much as the UK is producing. So it is a space where we can have a really Big impact by producing some technology, some solutions.

So that's the kind of driving force, but the, but the background, my background is in innovation and engineering. So I worked for the cellular telephone companies before cell phones were invented. So that rather ages me, but I've also worked in Formula One and I've worked in offshore yacht racing and I've worked in renewables.

And so what I know, absolutely know is that there is. Out there technology that we can adapt and deploy to. make shipping greener. And when I first started thinking about this I kind of went to people and said, would you, you know, can you tell me not to do this? Cause it's obviously mad or whatever. One of the first places I went was to the university of Southampton, where there's obviously a lot of experience of using wind and shipping.

I'd worked with them before in yacht racing, and I was like, you know, is this a crazy, you know, is this a thing that we should do? And I was expecting them to say, look, Di, this is mad, go away. And they went, oh, that could work. And so since then, we've been building the collaboration of companies, organizations, academics that can make it work.

So it's a kind of. Discovery detective. Who, so how does the whole system work? So it's a very complicated system shipping. There's cargo owners at one end, naval architects at the other. And then in the middle, there's insurers and shipbrokers and all sorts of people. So we've brought all of those people together.

With the university we have embarked on a research and development project, which has resulted in a sea trial being undertaken right now. 

Xan Phillips: Well, it is very exciting, especially as Southampton is so involved in this, but when you think about having a solid sail on a ship, were you, was there anything for you to look at that had been already developed, or was this something fresh off the drawing board that no one had tried before?

Di Gaplin: So that's a really good question. So, so basically we've moved merchant ships with wind for 8, 000 or so years. So we know that wind can move vessels through the water. What we haven't done as a society is put modern 21st century sailing devices onto modern ships and understood how we integrate this 21st century technology into modern global ships.

And so we spent a lot of time working with ship owners and said, you know, this is a good idea. And they're like, yeah, it is a good idea hypothetically. But in reality, there's a lot of technical challenges. There's a lot of validation challenges. There's a lot of economic challenges. So if you can solve those, then we can perhaps.

become an adopter. I mean, nobody wants to be first, and I think that's a really understandable position. I don't suppose anyone wants to be the first to put solar panel on their roof, so I don't think there's any kind of criticism of the shipping industry. We, it was our job to prove that the technology would work, and so that's what this work that we've been doing over the last two years with the university has set out to achieve.

Technically, How do we do it? Can we, you know, install it on a particular ship? How do we do that? You know, how does the engineering work? We have modelled fuel savings and emission savings in mathematical in towing tank, wind tunnel and so on. But what does it look like in the real world? So we needed to do that.

And if we know how much it's going to cost to build it and we know how much fuel we're going to save, how do we make the economic case to the industry? So they go, Oh yeah. Okay. So then, you know, I'll buy one of those. Or, a suite of them. 

Xan Phillips: Well, when you say what in the world does it look like, I think we should try and describe it, because if someone said a solid sail to me, I'd be thinking of, well, basically a solid triangle on a stick.

But can you describe to the listener how, how it looks and how it operates? 

Di Gaplin: Absolutely. So it's, so I think what we, I think the easiest way to envisage it is as a cross between an America's Cup, Wingsail and what you would see out of the wind of an airplane, but upright. So it's, it's a, it's aluminum and it's got several flaps along it so that it can move to capture the optimum wind speed and direction.

It's an. Automated device, or it is intended to be automated. We are developing it at the moment through the sea trials with a very engaged captain and crew. But ultimately it will be autonomous, intelligent. It will know which way the wind is coming from, and it will decide which way it will position itself to capture the wind.

If the wind is too high. And it's creating a danger, it automatically will deploy, retract onto the deck. If the wind is too low, it will also retract, so it's not creating additional obstacles, which the engine would have to push the, the additional wind resistance through. The one that we've got on the ship for trials is 20 meters, but the commercial version is 35 meters.

So that's an easy number to say, but once I actually saw it being manufactured, I was quite blown away by, oh, that is quite big. So yeah, I, it, it, that's, I think, have we got a picture of it now, Sam? 

Xan Phillips: That has definitely put a picture into my mind. Thank you very much. Especially the fact that it's hinged and lies flat when it's not required.

I think that's a very interesting development. And I think when people see it, they will be blown away to use your expression just then. But I think now's, now's an ideal time to bring in Joe. Dr. Joe Southampton. Now you're a maritime engineer, Joe. So what is your role? in this in this amazing device.

Dr Joseph Banks: Thank you for having me. So the the University of Southampton's role is to predict the performance of the vessel with the wing attached. So in order to be able to kind of you know, Sell these devices and get commercial investments. You've got to have a lot of confidence in your predictions. And so we're trying to improve the quality of the the predictions of how the vessel will perform.

And to do that, you have to be able to model and understand what the aerodynamic forces acting on the. Top part of the ship is and the hydrodynamic forces acting underneath the water and they're essentially balancing each other out. So when and the, you still got the propeller pushing the ship forward, but you've also got the wing pushing it forward as well.

And the fact that the wing is doing some of the work means your propeller has to work less hard and therefore the engine has to burn less fuel and you reduce your, your CO2 emissions. But, because the wind won't necessarily just be pushing the ship forward, if anyone's seen sailing vessels racing out in the Solent, they are heeling over and, and, and that's because the, the force pushes the ship sideways as well as forward.

And so we have to capture those interactions that that will change the flow around the hull. And how the flow goes past the rudder and the propeller at the back of the ship. And that changes the propeller efficiencies, how the rudder operates. So we have to capture all of these interactions that are happening for a wind assisted ship that aren't happening for a regular propelled vessel.

Xan Phillips: So, I mean, because a regular sailing ship has I'm not a sailor, but it's got a keel, hasn't it? To help in those situations to stop the slide happening. So how do you compensate for that? 

Dr Joseph Banks: Yeah. Well, it's an interesting thing we're looking at in terms of for most of the kind of retrofit kind of solutions we're looking at for now.

And certainly for the, for the Grebe, when you was talking about a, a modest proportion of your, of your thrust coming from the, the sales, the, the kind of. impact of the ship going sideways may not be sufficient to actually require you to fit a keel or change or change your hull form. We need to understand the impact it has, but it may not be economically beneficial to actually bolt something onto the bottom of the hull to reduce that kind of sideways slip.

When we start to look at larger, Proportions of, of, of wind. And you kind of look at installing larger numbers of these devices or redesigning a ship from scratch to, to be designed to sail with the, with the wind. Those are some of the factors that we'll need to think about more. And as we increase the proportion of, of wind power that any vessel has on it, then we have to think about those things in more detail.

Xan Phillips: Well, you currently got a ship sailing towards Southampton using the wing if we're calling it a wing or the solid sail but do you have data coming to you right now from the ship? 

Dr Joseph Banks: We're starting to see some very tantalizing indications that data is, is coming. So they've, they've started recording data.

We're starting to see some kind of snapshots that say that the data's being recorded correctly. We haven't yet managed to start analyzing any data or assessing what's happening yet. 

Xan Phillips: But the reports from the ship so far are thumbs up. 

Dr Joseph Banks: Yep, all very encouraging at the moment, which is great. 

Xan Phillips: And, I mean, the From your perspective, as as a lecturer, as someone who's been involved in maritime engineering, do you think this is a significant development in the sailing industry?

Dr Joseph Banks: Absolutely. I mean, one of the kind of key advantages that wind propulsion on ships has is that it's something we can do right now. To the existing fleet of ships. So there's all kinds of discussions going on in, in the maritime sector and shipping about how we can change to greener fuels and other kind of energy saving kind of methods.

But most of those require significant infrastructure or increased energy to make those happen. And we're not clear on how that will all happen yet. There's a lot of work going on in that area. But regardless of what future fuel you use in the future, if you install a wind assisted kind of propulsion technology, such as the fast rig wingsail onto your ship, you reduce the amount of fuel, whatever type of fuel it is to go at the same speed.

So it's a, it's a kind of key kind of technology that can help us transition the shipping sector and the maritime sector away from fossil fuels. Reduce the greenhouse gas emissions and reduce the amount of pollution going into our natural environment. 

Xan Phillips: Fantastic. Well, I think it's brilliant that you're doing this and you've got to you're going to be seeing it come down Southampton water next week, I think it is, isn't it?

Dr Joseph Banks: Yep. So the, the ship is due to arrive in Southampton on Monday on the 21st and will then be berthed at the NOC. So the National Oceanography Centre is a joint waterfront campus with the University of Southampton and the National Oceanography Centre. So she's going to be berthed alongside there. And we're doing a big.

Reveal events where people who've been involved in the project and the media and kind of ship owners can come and see the wing for themselves, see the ship and learn about the kind of the research we've been doing and the work we're doing. And from my perspective, that's a really nice opportunity that we'll be able to get some of our students who are studying maritime engineering to come down and see what the kind of future of shipping could look like.

I've got students doing projects looking at wind assisted shipping at the moment, so it's nice for them to be able to come down and see it in practice, because the majority of kind of installations which have tried to do this in recent years have been well out at sea and no one gets to see them in practice, so it's a really nice opportunity to, to bring the vessel to Southampton and and see it.

Xan Phillips: So Di, you must be very excited. I mean, look what your idea 10 in 10 years. This is what has transpired and it's actually snowballing now by the looks of it. How do you feel about it? 

Di Gaplin: It's oddly I've envisaged it happening. So at the moment I haven't yet experienced the full whack of the importance of it.

There's still a lot going on. The ship's at sea. I got the first video footage of the, of the re wing, the fast rig raising last night. And I'm getting reports all the time. We're seeing the data and I have to admit there was a little kind of emotional moment yesterday where I thought, Oh my word. But since we have.

brought together all of the parties that are part, you know, involved in this collaboration. It's just such a team effort. It's such a great. Activity, a great sense of commitment. There's been so much enthusiasm. You know, for the last three weekends, people have been working all weekend till 10 o'clock at night, getting the installation sorted out.

You know, with Joe and his team, there's been a lot of work doing the analysis. We've got investors and ship owners who are really supporting it. The crew of it. I mean, it's just amazing to see that level of commitment. And I think. It, you know, at the moment it just feels very humbling that so many people would roll up their sleeves and get on with it.

And it's just great. It's great to see. 

Xan Phillips: We, we haven't discussed the name of the ship or the ship itself what it does, but what, what's it called? 

Di Gaplin: So the ship is called the Pacific Grebe, and she's owned by Nuclear Transport Solutions. So she's built to be a nuclear waste carrier, which is one of the most.

Obviously safety and security conscious vessels in the world. So there's a lot of regulatory and safety requirements to, necessary to adhere to, to, to install her. So people have said to me, well, why would you do it on a nuclear waste carrier? Well, there's a number of reasons for that. One is that the funding that we UK government with the University of Southampton to do this.

Specified that we needed to do it on a UK flagship and the Pacific Grebe is a UK flagship. But equally, because it's not carrying cargo, we get the advantage of being able to undertake formal scientific sea trials with the vessel. So Joe was at a conference recently where the. The, the International Towing Tank Conference ratified protocols for testing wind assist devices like the fast rig.

And so we're the first project that's ever been able to do that because we can deploy the ship on particular routes, particular wind angles to collect the data that we need to give the market the confidence that we are, you know predicting the fuel saving in a way that they can feel confident about.

So that's a really big advantage. And the other is that we were able to install it so that the rig was built on the Clyde and it was installed at the ship, at the Pacific Grebe's home port in Barrow in Furness. So, very much. All of the team that have been involved in designing it and building it have been able to participate in the installation.

Other installations have happened in other parts of the world. So all of the learning has been collated and gathered and will inform the future of the design development. And I have to say that we are also, I mean, so completely again, blown away by colleagues. We've installed the rig and they've already redesigned the base from the learning that they've had from that installation for the next iteration.

So it's very fast moving. But it's, it's about. you know, huge amounts of committed people. 

Xan Phillips: And Joe, are you, is the university involved in these C's trials as well? 

Dr Joseph Banks: Well, so the university has been advising on how best to conduct these controlled C trials. Cause it's a really unique opportunity we've got because we've charted the vessel.

We can do a series of systematic tests in, in a range of different conditions. Over a period of time, which should allow us to test in varying wind speed, which is really unusual. Most sea trials are conducted on a vessel happen on a single day. They'll do a series of kind of runs in a matter of kind of four to six hours.

So it's a really short snapshot they might get at the performance of, of a ship with a wind assisted device. So for us to be able to conduct a series of tests over several weeks is a really kind of important opportunity. And as Di said, there's the the, the kind of. I International Towing Tank Conference have just created this procedure on how to do it.

So we'll be implementing that. I've just been elected onto the committee that will update that procedure over the next three years. So the learning we get from this process will feed directly into how these kind of devices are tested over in the future years. 

Xan Phillips: And of course, I mean, one quick question about wind speed because we've noticed obviously recently that the wind speed is increasing.

There's more wind about. Is that good news or bad news for a device like this? 

Dr Joseph Banks: In general, good. So, the more wind speed. Obviously, there will be limits and there'll be safety limits about what the device is designed to kind of be able to. survive and safely manage those loads. But because the wing retracts down on deck, that's fine.

It doesn't, it's not a safety concern. It's just the operational range of, of, of wind that you can manage in. But generally more, more wind is a, is a good thing from a, from a wind propulsion. 

Xan Phillips: So is this the main part of what you're doing at Southampton University or is there other things going on?

Dr Joseph Banks: So in terms of maritime engineering at the university, what's really nice about wind assisted technology is it combines two areas that we do a lot of work in. So yachts and sailing performance. And we've done, you know, had decades of research on how you kind of make sailing vessels faster, more efficient.

And then we do a lot of work on how we can make Traditional propelled ships, more efficient, greener, quieter. And this really brings those two elements together. So that's really nice. We can combine the kind of, and take the technology we've developed from a racing perspective in sailing and, and use it to reduce emissions in commercial shipping.

And the university is really well set up to do this because we've got amazing engineering facilities. We've got 138 meter towing tank, which allows us to tow model ships along the tank, measure all the forces, understand those hydrodynamic interactions. We've got large scale wind tunnels that allows us to kind of do model scale wings and look at the interaction between those wings and the, and the and the ship structure.

And we've got amazing computing resources, which allows us to do these really complicated simulations and predict what all the forces are acting on the wing and the ship and how they interact. 

Xan Phillips: Back to you then, Dai. And this is really snowboard from your idea 10 years ago to what you've seen or heard Joe talk about happening at Southampton University based on this particular idea of yours, this wing where, where do you see this going as far as industry is concerned, as, as, as far as development and also the future?

Di Gaplin: So the beginning of the interview, I talked about innovation and how it changes our lives. And and I mentioned that I'd worked in yacht racing and I'd also worked in motor racing and the technology that's being developed in those sports is really important to be adapted and delivered into the way that we as a.

global community operate. And so I think what's really interesting about the work that we've, that we've been doing with the University of Southampton, which is born out of yacht racing, is actually now contributing to us driving, progressing technology for what is, I think, the race of our lives. 

Xan Phillips: This is amazing.

I'm so delighted for you and I'm very excited. for this project because it is it's exactly what we need. It gives hope, it gives inspiration, but also it's a very practical solution for the times that we're in because we need to move quickly. So Di and Joe, thank you very much for your time. I look forward to meeting you on Monday at the launch the official launch in Southampton.

And thank you very much for speaking to us on Your Green Voice. 

Di Gaplin: Thank you very much for having 

Xan Phillips: us. Perfect. Thank you very much.

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