Airseas admits it's not his invention, it's already good
The Skysails site still exists: https://www.skysails.info/en/
Thanks to its kite, Toulouse start-up Airseas will revolutionize commercial navigation
Shipowners around the world are staring at the Toulouse start-up Airseas, which is a hit with its automatic kite that allows commercial vessels to save more than 20% of fuel. Zoom.
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At a time when renewable energies are becoming a serious alternative to fossil fuels, commercial vessels, these ocean giants, have everything to gain by saving fuel. Fuel represents more than half of their budget at sea. Not to mention pollution. So why not go sailing? This is the "original" idea of Vincent Bernatets, for more than a year president of the start-up Airseas, an Airbus spin-off, who "has not only imagined this revolutionary innovation for the transport industry it has also leveraged Airbus' aeronautical know-how to create SeaWing together, "says the company on its website.
This is a modular 1000 kite, installed at the bow of the ship, that the captain can deploy automatically from the dashboard of the bridge. The command can not be simpler, just a switch in "ON / OFF" mode and the embedded software does the rest (data calculations, wind strength, weather conditions, etc.). For merchant ships that go sailing, it's all good: SeaWing gives them a reduction in fuel consumption of "more than 20%", saving 1 at 2 million dollars a year for shipowners . Not insignificant in these difficult times marked by global warming.
This innovative concept is not quite the intellectual property of Vincent Bernatets, an Airbus engineer, environmental activist and passionate about sailing and sailing. "It is," he says, "a German company that launched this concept fifteen years ago. They failed to market it because the system was manual and it took several people to handle it, but they managed to demonstrate on a real scale that a sail can tow a very large boat. SeaWing is innovative because it is fully automatic.
The market ? It is colossal to believe Airseas who made a test in real conclusive. The first order was signed by Airbus - which allowed the project to be incubated in its fablab - for its ro-ro ship "Ville de Bordeaux", which will transport the A320 parts to Alabama (USA) equipped with the system. 2021. "Three of the five largest shipowners in the world, who own a fleet of 2 200 ships, have signed a letter of intent and the discussions are very advanced commercially," says Airseas president, who is headquartered in Paris. from Switzerland to Toulouse.
The figure: 20%
savings> In fuel and polluting emissions. This is what is provided by navigation using the kite, marketed by the Toulouse start-up Airseas. This giant 100 m2 sail harnesses the wind, a free and perpetual source of energy "which reduces the energy demand of the main engines", indicate the designers. The SeaWing system controls the position, attitude and speed of the kite to provide the best thrust to the vessel in a given situation. Artificial intelligence in its finest form.
"Three of the five largest shipowners in the world have signed a letter of intent."
Vincent Bernatets, president of Toulouse start-up Airseas
An innovative project and partners
The SeaWing system, produced by Toulouse start-up Aiseas, which employs about twenty people, is an innovative project that brings together several knowledges, funders and partners. This concept was developed by the European aircraft manufacturer Airbus, which has put its premises and technology at the service of Airseas, which is now specialized in providing automated kites capable of towing commercial vessels. The financial support of the Ademe (environment and energy management agency) is also for something. Airseas brings in its wake regional partners essential to the design of its products: the naval architectural firm LMG Marin, the manufacturer of paragliders Nervures, the manufacturer of navigation software Max Sea and the National Maritime School (ENSM) which trains the officers of the Merchant Navy.
Gérald Camier
https://www.ladepeche.fr/article/2018/1 ... rseas.html