Press & Media
World Cargo News - Smart Green Shipping gains finance-grade validation
Simon Walton - World Cargo News
UK-based wind-assisted propulsion developer Smart Green Shipping says it can now guarantee the fuel-saving performance of its FastRig system, after independent validation of real-world sea-trial data by researchers at the University of Southampton. The findings could strengthen the commercial case for wind-assist technology as shipowners seek practical ways to cut fuel consumption and emissions.
TradeWinds - Guaranteed Wind Performance
Craig Eason - TradeWinds
A UK green tech start-up is to guarantee fuel savings for shipowners that install its wind solutions, in a deal which is believed to be a first in the sector.
Smart Green Shipping chief executive Di Gilpin said recent rigorous sea trials of its stowable rigid sails on a UK-flagged ship gave the company the “confidence” to commit to the deal.
Safety4Sea - Smart Green Shipping: First finance-grade guarantees unlocked for FastRig
Smart Green Shipping (SGS) can now warranty the fuel-saving performance of FastRig, its wind-assist propulsion system following assessment under ITTC protocols developed by ship scientists.
Splash247 - British wind propulsion specialist to warranty fuel savings
Smart Green Shipping’s (SGS) Winds of Change project has validated the FastRig wingsail prototype on a 104 m cargo ship, showing close agreement between high‑fidelity predictions and sea trial measurements and enabling commercial performance guarantees.
Ship.Energy February 2026 Magazine
Smart Green Shipping’s founder and CEO, Diane Gilpin, is among the contributors to Ship.Energy’s February issue, taking part in the ship.energy 2026 survey alongside a diverse, influential group of industry decision-makers, innovators and policymakers. As a long-standing advocate for scaling practical climate solutions at sea, Diane brings a system-wide perspective that connects technology, regulation, finance and environmental protection.
World Cargo News - Smart Green Shipping closes in on new funding round
Scottish wind-as-a-service provider Smart Green Shipping (SGS) is closing its current funding round. The work is being managed by Aberdeen-based investment bank, Piper Sandler, as commercial shipping looks for practical, near-term solutions to cut fuel consumption and emissions. The round has attracted interest from both existing and new investors, reflecting growing confidence in wind-assisted propulsion as a viable tool for decarbonising large parts of the global fleet.
SAFETY4SEA - Industry Voices: A 2026 wish-list for greener shipping
The green transition is no longer a question of intent, but of execution, credibility and scale, emphasised experts in our special column. Decarbonisation is inevitable, but complex and it cannot succeed in silos.
Industry voices stressed that sustainability must be addressed across the full lifecycle of a vessel—from design and fuel choices to real-world operations, digital optimisation, and responsible recycling. Narrow, fuel-only approaches are no longer sufficient; instead, the transition requires flexible pathways that balance climate ambition with commercial viability, safety and operational reality.
Seatrade Maritime News - Trusted data key to wind propulsion wider adoption
Gary Howard - Seatrade Maritime News
Trust in system performance and reliability is a barrier to the wider adoption of wind propulsion systems, experts at a recent webinar said, and the sector is putting verified data to work to avoid over-promising and under-delivering.
During the webinar, hosted by MarRI-UK and available to watch on Youtube, Di Gilpin, founder & CEO, Smart Green Shipping (SGS), said she knew at the beginning of her journey in wind propulsion that trusted data would be the accelerator for the technology.
MarRI-UK - Webinar: Wind Propulsion Technology And The Maritime Market
Wind propulsion is quickly becoming one of the most disruptive energy transformation technologies in maritime. As the sector doubles down on net-zero commitments, wind is breaking the mold by shifting the focus away from fuel-dependent strategies altogether. Retrofittable or integrated into newbuilds, this fuel-agnostic tech taps a free, renewable energy source to cut consumption, hedge against volatile fuel markets, and strengthen long-term operational resilience—especially as alternative fuels grow more expensive.
Rapid innovation in wind-assist systems, combined with rising interest from shipowners, charterers, ports, and regulators, is accelerating demand for a clear understanding of both the technology and the market forces driving adoption. Smart Green Shipping’s pioneering approach and real-world demonstrations show how modern vessels can harness wind at scale — and unlock new commercial models in the process.
To advance this knowledge, MarRI-UK hosted a webinar in collaboration with Smart Green Shipping for a dynamic webinar delivering a high-level, accessible overview of wind propulsion technology in today’s commercial landscape. The session unpacks the current state of the technology, spotlight emerging market trends, and explore how wind-assist solutions are shaping the next generation of sustainable shipping.
We are fortunate to have three very knowledgeable speakers who joined the webinar:
Di Gilpin, Founder & CEO, Smart Green Shipping
Frank Hendrikse, Manager (Tanker Department), Hagland Shipbrokers
Camille Bourgeon, Regulatory development & Policy Coordination (Climate action and clean air), Marine Environment Division, IMO.
The webinar was chaired by Professor John Hudson , Strategic Advisor to MarRI-UK.
BusinessGreen - How Smart Green Shipping is charting a course for fleet decarbonisation
Smart Green Shipping CEO Diane Gilpin and BusinessGreen editor-in-chief James Murray discuss the future of low carbon shipping and what it could mean for broader corporate emissions reduction efforts
BusinessGreen - The IMO's net zero policy delay won't take the wind from greener shipping's sails
The IMO's decision to delay its net zero policy framework by a year may be frustrating, but it doesn't pause shipping's energy transition - rather, it proves the market's already ahead of policy, writes Smart Green Shipping CEO Diane Gilpin.
BBC Business Daily Podcast - Can Global Shipping Go Green?
"The reality of the climate emergency is in our face every single day. And the reality of delay means that the costs will increase," said SGS CEO Di Gilpin on BBC News' Business Daily podcast, presented by Will Bain and produced by David Cann.
Find the episode available in full here or listen below.
The Heavy Lift Engineer
We are pleased to see SGS CEO Di Gilpin featured in the lastest edition of The Heavy Lift Engineer magazine, edited by Helenor Fisher, which is focused exclusively on renewables.
Find the article freely available to read in full in The Heavy Lifter Engineer website or in the PDF below.
BusinessGreen - Smart Green Shipping's Diane Gilpin: 'Take a leaf out of nature's book - never give up'
Women in Green Business Awards 2025: Transport Professional of the Year and Entrepreneur of the Year reflects on her 'quite bonkers' double win
BusinessGreen: What does winning these awards mean to you personally and professionally?
Diane Gilpin: Shipping's a vast, globally interconnected, complex system produces three per cent of the world's emissions but remains quite niche. The sector's been behind the curve on embracing green development opportunities, but the slumbering giant is stirring, becoming aware of the huge commercial potential and my business Smart Green Shipping is a beneficiary.
BusinessGreen - Women in Green Business Awards 2025: And the winner is...
All the winners and highly commended entries from last night's glittering awards ceremony celebrating pioneering women from across the UK's green economy
Last night over 350 business leaders, entrepreneurs, and sustainability executives from across the UK's green economy gathered in Central London for the second annual Women in Green Business Awards.
Smart Green Shipping Roundtable Aims to Drive Scotland’s Green Growth
Reflecting on the International Maritime Organization’s World Maritime Day theme, ‘Our Ocean, Our Obligation, Our Opportunity’, the event, organised with the support of the Scottish Government, brought together key stakeholders from maritime, investment, technology, and policy. They explored how Scotland can seize the economic opportunity of scaling globally exportable clean maritime solutions by closing the gap between R&D funding and commercialisation.
Glasgow, 25 September 2025: Smart Green Shipping (SGS), pioneers of retrofittable Clydebuilt wind-assist technology for global shipping, convened a high-level roundtable to address critical scale up (Series A) investment gaps. These threaten Scotland’s opportunity to capitalise on the trillion-dollar global market opportunity offered by shipping’s green transition. The discussion, moderated by one of Scotland’s most highly regarded maritime business experts, Patrick Carnie, focused on end-to-end funding and support for Scotland’s proven, globally exportable clean maritime technologies. These can stimulate economic growth for Scotland and make significant contributions to emissions reduction.
Smart Green Shipping Founder & CEO Diane Gilpin said, “Last year SGS built, tested and proved, through extensive sea trials, that FastRigs, our robust Scottish built lightweight, automated wingsails save double-digit emissions on suitable ship types. The Department for Transport estimates up to 40,000 ships in the global fleet could deploy wind-assist solutions.”
"SGS exemplifies the scale of the opportunity for Scotland from global shipping’s green transition. We’ve collaborated across Scottish maritime through deep co-operation with Caley Ocean Systems and the Malin Group. Having benefitted from Scottish Enterprise support in the high-risk R&D stage, we’d love to be able to build out this global opportunity by working with National Manufacturing Institute of Scotland to design and deploy new high value manufacturing systems to underpin new business models that are driven by novel digital systems that optimise performance and innovative financial and legal arrangements. We’d like to see public investment recouped and reinvested into future innovation. Building on Scotland’s deep expertise in energy and maritime we can create good green jobs across Scotland and the wider UK, kickstarting economic growth, contributing to the UK becoming a green energy superpower,” she concluded.
Held at the historic Malin Group Rotunda building in Glasgow, the manufacturing roundtable brought together senior representatives from the Scottish Government Economic Growth Unit, Scottish Enterprise, National Manufacturing Institute of Scotland, National Wealth Fund, the National Shipbuilding Office, Malin Group, Caley, Drax, Greenbackers, G-NRGY, Zem Fuels & SESL, the University of Strathclyde, and the Scottish North American Business Council. Held under the Chatham House Rule, the discussions centred on unlocking barriers to growth, creating the right conditions for innovation, and developing financial support mechanisms to help scale clean maritime technologies. Participants also explored the potential payback for Scotland — from green jobs and skills to intellectual property and exports — while highlighting wider business opportunities and long-term impacts across the economy.
Patrick Carnie, Non-Executive Director at the Scottish Maritime Cluster, said “In Scotland, as in many countries, too few people see the scale of the opportunity before us — we suffer from ‘seablindness’. This has long limited the engagement of investors, policymakers, and innovators in the Maritime sector. Yet there are signs of change. As UK Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport Keir Mather MP highlighted at London International Shipping Week, government now recognises the need to tackle scale-up barriers if we are to fully capitalise on maritime markets and the transition to zero emissions.”
He continued, “By building on Scotland’s strengths in renewables, oil and gas, manufacturing, and shipbuilding, we can drive a broader industrial shift, unlock green jobs, develop future-ready skills, and secure Scotland and the UK’s leadership in a sustainable, globally connected maritime economy. Targeted investment in proven, near-to-market technologies is a significant catalyst for wider, long-term benefits. Successful clean maritime businesses create high value, sustainable jobs across manufacturing, deep tech, legal, financial, intellectual property, and a variety of other sectors. This can reinforce Scotland and the UK’s leadership in this vital sector while driving sustainable economic growth across the world.”
Smart Green Shipping will publish a report, summarising the discussions and setting out the next steps and actions agreed at the roundtable.
The Ocean Opportunity Lab: Wavemakers Podcast - When Wind Meets Software: Di’s Mission with Smart Green Shipping
What happens when Formula One thinking, offshore yacht grit, and climate urgency collide? You get Di Gilpin—UK founder & CEO of Smart Green Shipping, bringing wind back to shipping with 21st-century intelligence.
On this episode of the Wavemakers Podcast by TOOL, hosted by Birgit M. Liodden, Di shares how her path from early mobile telecoms to F1, yacht racing, and renewables led to an elegant truth: ships can move on wind—and software can make it seamless. Smart Green Shipping’s automated wing sails deploy, retract, and optimize themselves, measuring fuel savings and generating compliance certificates—no crew micromanagement required.
From the first sparks of climate awareness to building certified hardware (out of metal, tested at sea, the hard way), Di is reshaping incentives in a fuel-centric industry and calling in patient capital to scale what’s now inevitable: wind in shipping.
Insider - Unlocking value from shipping’s urgent green transition
Scotland stands poised to seize a significant global opportunity in the rapidly expanding wind-assist technology market, projected to surpass $40bn by 2034.
Stricter international climate regulations, ambitious EU sustainability goals and increasing customer demand are driving a rapid shift toward cleaner, greener shipping. This creates a prime opportunity for strategic, patient investment in near-market technology to gain an early foothold.
Kaiji Press - 風力推進装置、成果連動型契約も 英SGS社、リース提供で短期運用にも対応
Kazuhiro Tsushima - Kaiji Press
Smart Green Shipping (SGS), a UK startup, is advancing the commercialization of its uniquely developed wind-assisted propulsion device for ships, "FastRig." Utilizing the lightweight aluminum system, which allows for easy installation and removal, the company proposes flexible schemes to facilitate adoption by shipowners and charterers. These include offering the device through a leasing model and providing outcome-based contracts that share fuel efficiency savings between shipowners and charterers. To achieve this, they aim to accurately predict the fuel efficiency benefits in advance.