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Watch This Revolutionary Kite System for Ships in Action for the First Time

Sailing systems have been making a comeback in the past few years, and it looks like this is just the beginning. It sounds almost impossible to harness the power of wind in order to make modern-day shipping friendlier to the environment, but it’s actually happening. One of these revolutionary solutions is called Seawing and it doesn’t use traditional sails, but a kite system.
Airseas developed the Seawing system based on an innovative kite 6 photos
Photo: Airseas
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A massive commercial vessel deploys a kite while it’s traveling between Europe and the U.S., in order to reduce CO2 emissions. It sounds like a kid’s hopeful fantasy, but it’s perfectly real. This happened recently, during the pioneering sea trials conducted by Airseas.

This France-based wind propulsion developer used both maritime and aeronautical technology to develop the Seawing, based on a special kite that’s activated through advanced automation systems, and controlled using a digital twin. It’s versatile enough to be installed on any type of commercial vessel, and it claims to reduce fuel consumption (and, therefore, emissions) by 20%.

During this recent trial, a ship called Ville de Bordeaux was used to transport Airbus aircraft components between Europe and the U.S. That’s because Airbus is the launch customer and a minority shareholder for Airseas. This means that Airbus chartered the 154-meter (505 feet) vessel that is operated by Louis Dreyfus Armateurs (LDA), Offshore Energy reports.

During the voyage, the Seawing was officially deployed for the first time, flying at 200 meters (656 feet) above sea level. Airseas engineers were onboard, to collect data from this pioneering test. The success of this initial operation meant the validation of essential processes, such as folding and unfolding the kite, and flight in altitude.

The testing phase for Seawing is not over. The Airseas team will soon expose the system to more challenging environments, including various weather conditions. However, this unconventional solution for green shipping looks promising. In addition to Airbus, the Japanese shipowner K-Line is another major customer with confirmed orders for the Seawing.

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About the author: Otilia Drăgan
Otilia Drăgan profile photo

Otilia believes that if it’s eco, green, or groundbreaking, people should know about it (especially if it's got wheels or wings). Working in online media for over five years, she's gained a deeper perspective on how people everywhere can inspire each other.
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