Norsepower, IINO Kaiun Kaisha, Ltd. (IINO Lines), and Mizuho Leasing have launched a mechanical sail leasing initiative for the Norsepower Rotor Sail. This aims to increase shipping companies’ access to the product to help reduce fuel consumption and emissions.
The partnership brings extensive experience in lease financing, including expertise in leasing sustainable technologies, which is combined with Norsepower’s nearly ten-year track record of installations on board commercial vessels.
The adoption of proven, commercialised energy efficiency products such as the Norsepower Rotor Sail is hindered by the traditional requirement for upfront investment. This initial investment can be a significant barrier to technology take-up for small to medium-sized shipowners and operators, despite the achievable fuel consumption, GHG and other emissions reductions. The new service aims to remove these barriers and enable greater accessibility to finance Norsepower’s product.
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Leasing packages
The initiative’s focus is to provide shipowners and operators with leasing packages for the Norsepower Rotor Sail, which start at a minimum five-year term against a fixed monthly fee.
The concept is being developed amid growing recognition that GHG and other emissions reductions with low carbon or green fuels alone prior to 2030 will be minimal. This is due to the limited availability of alternative fuels, placing an onus on energy efficiency solutions like Norsepower Rotor Sails to maximise energy efficiency savings.
‘Norsepower Rotor Sails are now an undisputed choice for making meaningful emissions reductions and managing escalating fuel bills,’ says Tuomas Riski, CEO, Norsepower. ‘Having our product as standard on board all suitable vessels should be feasible for shipowners and operators of all sizes. That’s why we’re delighted to introduce new, competitively priced leasing services with our partners. By doing so, we could lower upfront capital requirements and encourage vessel owners to take action and upgrade their fleets.’
Yasuhiko Hashimoto, managing executive officer at Mizuho Leasing: ‘Through our work in other sectors, we have seen first-hand how improving access to finance and providing flexible options for accessing sustainable technologies can make a real-world impact on improving environmental performance. We are excited to apply our experience to the maritime industry and support IINO Lines and Norsepower in achieving our shared ambition to make the use of energy-efficient technologies a scalable reality.’
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Rotor Sail
The Norsepower Rotor Sail is a modernised version of the Flettner rotor. It uses a small amount of the ship’s electric power to rotate cylinder-shaped rotors to generate powerful thrust that saves fuel and reduces emissions.
Vessel and cargo owners have already used the product for nearly ten years, accumulating around 300,000 operating hours of verified performance data that show average fuel consumption savings of between five to 25 per cent, or more in good conditions. These savings have been measured and analysed independently in various projects by Lloyd’s Register, ABB, NAPA, RISE, Chalmers University of Technology and VTT.
Nearly 30,000 vessels across tankers, bulk carriers, gas carriers, roll-on/roll-off, and passenger vessels currently on the water can benefit from the Rotor Sails. It is a proven commercialised product that could reduce CO2 emissions across the global fleet by 80 megatonnes, which is about ten per cent of all global shipping’s greenhouse gas emissions.
Picture by Norsepower.
Also read: Rotor Sails to be installed on a bulk carrier for the first time
