The launch of GT Wings’ AirWing™S extends the UK developer’s Jet Sail range to smaller and space-constrained vessels. Its ability to succeed in this market depends on proof, price and a crowded field of rivals.
GT Wings has added a compact, lightweight version of its AirWing™ Jet Sail to its product range, aimed at smaller commercial vessels where deck space, stability and weight limits can rule out wind-assisted propulsion. The AirWing™S was unveiled in Nantong, China, on 15 October at an open house hosted by manufacturing partner Zunsion Technology, where GT Wings showcased that the first customer-ordered units from its AirWing™20 product line were close to completion.
The combined announcement makes a clear statement: the AirWing™20 is moving from prototype to commercial production, and the AirWing™S is a signal that GT Wings wants to build a family of AirWing options.
The opportunity with smaller ships
Most wind-assist implementations making the headlines concern very large ships: Anemoi has fitted five rotor sails to a 400,000 dwt ore carrier, and Norsepower rotors are due on two VLCCs from 2028. Smaller vessels are a more discreet but significant market, and a logical next step for any developer whose technology works at a larger scale.
Smaller general cargo ships, coastal vessels and short-sea traders are often older, run on thin margins, and have little exposure to the carbon pricing that drives decisions on larger tonnage. FuelEU Maritime and the EU ETS currently only applies to ships above 5,000 GT, so the regulatory pull for owners of smaller vessels is weak, and the returns for wind assistance rely mainly on fuel savings. However, the business case for adopting wind assisted propulsion might change significantly if the EU Commission’s ETS review extends the scheme to vessels between 400 and 5,000 GT from 2028. The AirWing™S is clearly aimed at this sector.
Smaller vessels consume less fuel, so the absolute saving from any wind unit is smaller, and a system must be cheap enough to pay back on a modest fuel bill, which explains the company’s emphasis on having the AirWing™S as a lower-CAPEX entry point. Importantly, though, the use of the AirWing™S is not limited to vessels under 5000 dwt. AirWing™S can operate on vessels above that tonnage, where it may be a more suitable choice for a shipowner to go with the lighter, compact, shorter unit; for instance, on ships up to 15,000 dwt. It is worth noting that some ships are suited for a larger volume of units versus one taller/heavier unit. These specificities will depend on a shipowner’s preference, which is largely dictated by the operational profile and trade pattern of a vessel.
Can it scale down and still deliver?
The data from GT Wings’ in-service reference, Carisbrooke Shipping‘s 11,183 dwt Vectis Progress, is interesting: installation of the single 20-metre AirWing required the fitting of roughly 9.6 tonnes of steel below deck, 8.7 tonnes of new pedestal steel and more than 7 km of cabling. For a small ship, structural and stability work of that kind can be as decisive as the price of the unit itself. A lighter, smaller wing should reduce that burden; however, the company has not yet published the unit’s dimensions, weight, or an estimate of savings.
GT Wings say that the suitability will be judged vessel by vessel, looking at deck space, stability and structure, trading pattern and wind exposure, and commercial return, with feasibility studies offered to prospective buyers. This is sensible and honest, but it leaves the central question unanswered: how much fuel might a compact wing save on a vessel of a given size?
After ten months of North Atlantic operations on the trial vessel Vectis Progress, GT Wings claim the AirWing™ had delivered up to 10% reduction in fuel consumption. However, detailed data on the results of the trial has not yet been made available.
Entering a crowded field
GT Wings is entering an increasingly established market. Econowind says it has sold more than 170 VentoFoils into the short-sea and regional shipping sector. Spain’s bound4blue has installed its suction sails on a growing range of ships, including Maersk Tankers’ MR fleet and the Atlantic Orchard juice carrier. Anemoi, meanwhile, has more than eight years of operating experience with multiple installations of its rotor sails. All of this means that mid- and small-sized vessels owners may soon have four or five options to choose from.
Where that leaves GT Wings
GT Wings has real strengths in that it has a differentiated aerodynamic concept, government- and venture capital- backed development, an operating vessel, a recognised class society’s verification of its methodology, and a Chinese manufacturing partner that could deliver the volume and cost control needed to make small-vessel economics work and it has built that base quickly.
In a market where owners are cautious about unproven savings, the key points that will matter in the next 12 months’ will be the delivery of the AirWing™20 units currently in production, a first AirWing™S order, and a suite of independently verified results that owners can use to set against their own fuel bills.
The International Windships Association (IWSA) claims there are currently 230 individual wind propulsion units spread across 107 vessels and that the market is growing at CAGR of 75%, which would equate to well over 1000 ships with wind assisted propulsion by 2030. A lighter, powerful unit that delivers useful savings at a lower price would be an attractive option, but the AirWing™S will need to prove those points quickly to catch the wave of a rapidly expanding wind assisted propulsion market.
