Press & Media
Logistics UK - Pushing the boat out
The shipping industry turns to giant high-tech wings.
"Why didn't I think of that?" You may well ask. After all, it is a simple premise - huge 20-metre wings that propel cargo ships and reduce carbon emissions. When bolted to a vessel’s decks and sitting upright, the wing, called FastRig, will act as a sail harnessing the power of wind.
Smart Green Shipping (SGS), the company that has developed the device, and some of the world’s leading shipowners are convinced that it can provide clean power to supplement ships’ engines.
TradeWinds - Di Gilpin: ‘Wind energy is not some hippy-yachtie greenwash’
Di Gilpin for TradeWinds
The main problem in shipping that I’d fix is the failure to grasp that wind energy is not some hippy-yachtie greenwash, that the shipping fleet has everything it needs now to make the industry cleaner, more commercially resilient and, dare I say it, fun!
Bunkerspot - Early Learning: Lessons from First Movers: Sail of the Century
Bunkerspot Magazine
In October, Smart Green Shipping (SGS) showcased FastRig – its lightweight, easy-to-retrofit intelligent wingsail – on the MV Pacific Grebe in sea trials at both Southampton and Greenock. This land mark came just over a decade after I first incorporated SGS, and you might ask why did it take so long?
Tech Market View - Totally Sust Podcast #6: Wind-as-a-service: Wing-sail solutions to decarbonise Global Shiping
Craig Wentworth - Tech Market View
In the sixth episode of TechMarketView's sustainability technology podcast "Totally Sust", Principal Analyst Craig Wentworth talks to Di Gilpin (Founder & CEO at Smart Green Shipping) and Henry Smith (Chartering Manager at MOL, the Mitsui O.S.K. Lines shipping business) about how Smart Green Shipping's FastRig wing-sail is being used to decarbonise commercial shipping, and the company's innovative Wind-as-a-Service business model that helps de-risk adoption of such innovative new tech.
ESG Investor - Set Sail For A Green Future
By Diane Gilpin for ESG Investor
The misconception that wind is unpredictable and therefore an impossible alternative to fossil fuels, has meant the maritime industry and investors continue to underestimate this primary renewable energy. But modern wind-assist technology in tandem with the latest in route optimisation software – taking into account historical and real-time weather forecasts and data – means we have the ability to predict when and how the wind will blow, bringing wind into the 21st century.
Reuters - Sea trial aims to give industry confidence in smart sail tech
Reuters
A cargo ship fitted with a high-tech, computer-controlled smart sail is undergoing sea trials off the United Kingdom coast to test how effective it is in helping power the ship. Olivia Zollino reports.
“By 2050, shipping needs to be net zero so we need to find ways of reducing the fuel and the emissions from shipping. And wind is a brilliant way of starting that process.”
Watch the video to learn more.
TradeWinds - ShipTech News: Will renting out the wind work? Ask Di
Craig Eason - TradeWinds
After 20 years, Di Gilpin saw her idea come to fruition when the 4,902-dwt Pacific Grebe (built 2010) left Barrow two weeks ago with its FastRig secured in its deck.
But the journey is far from over. The rig is only a temporary addition to the UK-flagged nuclear waste carrier. It will be removed once the trials are completed, with the data and learning from sea trials assessed.
TradeWinds - Rent out the wind: Can sail Technology for specific charters avoid start-up valley of death?
Craig Eason - TradeWinds
“Ultimately nothing in that wing sail is particularly innovative in its own right. What we have done is bring together existing technology from cranes, wind turbines, aircraft wings, and Americas Cup [yacht racing] technology,” Gilpin told TradeWinds.
WorldCargo News - Hitech windy shipping breezes into Greenock
Simon Walton - WorldCargo News
The Scottish port of Greenock is playing host to an experimental wind-assisted cargo ship, with technology manufactured locally and getting ready for deployment around the world.
The Scotsman - Watch: Scottish eco-sails could herald return to earlier maritime age - and cut emissions by 30%
Joshua King - The Scotsman
Sea trials are expected to conclude next month and will confirm if lab modelling, conducted by the University of Southampton, showing that vessels fitted with FastRig could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 30 per cent annually on transatlantic crossing.
BBC News - How wind power could be future of cargo shipping
Stephen Stafford - BBC News
An experimental wind-powered cargo ship has arrived in Southampton to undergo sea trials.
The 5,000-tonne cargo carrier, Pacific Grebe, has been retrofitted with a new 20-metre (65ft) wing-sail to allow it to be powered by wind.
Scientists from the University of Southampton are coordinating controlled sea trials to assess the ship’s performance across different conditions in UK waters.
The Independent - Sea trials under way for wind-powered sail in bid to cut shipping emissions
Anahita Hossein-Pour - The Independent
“We need alternative fuels to support global shipping’s transition to zero-emissions, but quality, energy density, availability and cost of these fuels is unknown.
“There is a simple solution – and that’s wind.”
Sky News - FastRig: First UK trial begins of sail designed to cut ships' carbon footprint
Tom Clarke - Sky News
Smart Green Shipping made headlines in Sky News, showcasing our innovative FastRig wingsail installed on the Pacific Grebe, a nuclear fuel transport ship operated by Nuclear Transport Solutions.
Holyrood’s Climate Action Award 2024
Smart Green Shipping has been awarded the Holyrood Climate Technology & Innovation Award.
Holyrood - Shortlist announced for Holyrood’s annual Climate Action Awards
Ethan Claridge - Holyrood
“A huge aluminium sail that could revolutionise ocean travel is one of many innovative ideas highlighted by Holyrood’s annual Climate Action Awards shortlist.”
UKTN Podcast - Why climate tech needs more than private investment
Check out the UKTN podcast featuring our CEO, Di Gilpin, as she dives into the importance of government funding in climate tech, the climate impact of the shipping industry, and why Scotland is an ideal hub for female entrepreneurs in this field.
Edie - Why ‘green fuels’ are nothing more than magical thinking for the shipping industry
Alternative or ‘green’ fuels such as ammonia and hydrogen receive a great deal of attention when it comes to discussions about how we can reduce emissions in shipping. These fuels are promising but in the case of ammonia in particular, there are serious concerns around handling the fuel – including its extreme toxicity and the lifecycle emissions from its production.
UKTN - Tech Report: Scotland
‘It’s no secret the Scottish government has recently faced backlash because of its decision to scrap the target to cut carbon emissions by 75% by 2030. But Scotland is still a great place to start an early-stage innovative climate technology company – as I can attest to from my own experience. Scotland has a great deal of initiatives in place to fund and support first movers and a lot of ambition and collaboration, including the citizens' Climate Assembly, designed to engage the public in making decisions to tackle climate change.’ - Diane Gilpin, CEO of Smart Green Shipping.
FT - Letter: Britain’s green innovators— the smart money gets it
Di Gilpin - Financial Times
Diane Gilpin, the CEO of Smart Green Shipping, discusses Britain's green innovators and emphasizes that investors are seeking strong individual businesses that happen to be sustainability-driven rather than just opportunities to virtue signal.