Eco Marine Power begins ClassNK collaboration

The goal initially is to prepare for full commercial production of the EnergySail, a rigid computer-controlled system of sails, designed to make the most of prevailing weather, which can be lowered and stored when not in use or in bad weather.
The classification society and Eco Marine Power will work together on areas including operation of the automated control system, software and hardware safety measures, and installation methods. Commercial production of the EnergySail will complete the development of several technologies required for the release of EMP’s patented Aquarius Marine Renewable Energy (MRE) system which integrates sails, solar panels, energy storage modules, a charging system and marine computers to harness energy provided by wind and sun.  
Greg Atkinson, chief technology officer at Eco Marine Power, commented: “The collaboration with ClassNK is a very important part of our development strategy as we work towards verifying the operation of our EnergySail both ashore and on a ship during sea trials. We also want to make sure that we don’t repeat the mistakes made during the development of previous sail-assisted or wind-assisted propulsion solutions, especially in terms of operability.”
Shore-based testing of the EnergySail will take place at Japan’s Onomichi Marine Tech Test Center and EMP is currently discussing opportunities for the first installation of a complete Aquarius MRE system with several shipowners.