Company Developing Energy-Efficient Ship that Floats on Air
Rotterdam-based marine-engineering firm DK Group has been quietly testing one of the strangest-sounding technologies to come along in the recent past— a ship that floats on air. This past September, the company let loose a 272 foot long cargo vessel in Norway’s Oslo Fjord. 25 feet below the ship’s surface, recesses built into the underside of the vessel’s hull created drag-reducing pockets.
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The reduction in drag meant that the ship used 7 percent less oil than it normally would. It also significantly reduced carbon dioxide emissions.
DK Group estimates that implementing air cavity systems to ships adds only 2 to 3 percent to building costs.
If the company’s technology is widely adopted, it could be hugely beneficial to the merchant shipping industry, which emits 800 million tons of CO2 annually. And of course, anything that even begins to wean us off petroleum deserves praise.
I think the container ship manufacturers should look at using Hyperion reactors to power their ships.
http://www.hyperionpowergeneration.com/
Imagine not having to fuel those monsters for 10 years. Seems like a great deal to me.
Yeah, those Hyperion reactors would be cool. Though, the first one still needs to be manufactured…
Anyway, reducing drag by 7% is fantastic. Pair that with the modular Wind Sail, could see fuel savings of 25% easy.