With a PR FESR FVG contribution for research and development of €972,312.89 – of which the EU contribution is equal to 40% for an eligible expenditure of €1,787,333.15 – the WINDS project, Wing-Implemented Navigation for Decarbonized Shipping, has taken off, or rather, taken flight, involving 3 local SMEs accompanied by the University of Trieste.

The WINDS project was presented on the call for proposals A.1.1.2 Grants aimed at developing research, development and innovation negotiation projects – Maritime Technologies by member and affiliated companies of the mareFVG cluster, which was initially entrusted to Naos Ship and Boat Design, a naval design studio specializing in the ro-ro and ro-pax sector and with over 30 years of experience in the sector.

But what is the WINDS project about?

WINDS is an ambitious and innovative project that aims to design and create an innovative system aimed at integrating naval propulsion using the force of the wind, which allows for a reduction in fuel consumption and a reduction in polluting emissions in maritime transport. A demonstrator of the sail system, which we will soon get used to seeing installed on ship decks, will soon be hosted in the coastal area of ​​FVG managed by the Port System Authority of the Eastern Adriatic Sea, with the aim of validating functionality and performance.

The only Italian project in this area, thanks to the skills of its partners, WINDS has the potential to compete with solutions being developed in other European countries, optimized for performance, construction technology, automation, operability and costs. And in addition, the system will also be validated from the point of view of environmental impact, because in addition to promising the exploitation of renewable energy at zero cost, the environmental impact indicators provided for by the ISO 14.040 standard will be evaluated

mareFVG, which has already coordinated the definition of the project idea and the presentation of the proposal for the tender, will be responsible for project management and the dissemination of the project results.