Relevance of Flettner Rotors Today
To answer the questions of: why do we not see Flettner rotors on ships all over the world, and is there not a good reason why they have not been widely adopted in the industry, this section aims to explain why now more than ever, Flettner rotors are worth consideration and are a relevant technology today.
Anton Flettner created the Flettner Rotor first seen on the Backau vessel in 1924. The debut for this brand new technology was successful in ways, but failed to make a serious impact on the shipping industry. Using the magnus effect the technology worked in producing lift and propelling the ship through the water, and did so reliably, with its first voyage from Germany to Scotland in 1925 and future voyages across the Atlantic to New York the technology performed well without cause for concern even in high winds (Thiiink, n.d.). At a time where fuel powered marine transport was developing quicker than ever, and fuel prices were incredibly low, the Flettner Rotor was not adopted by many other ship builders of the time. The fuel savings presented such slim financial savings and emission concerns were non-existent so the Flettner Rotor remained a niche technology in the industry.
Today the fuel price for such vessels is volatile, varying dramatically from month to month. Although global trends are hard to identify with such a variable commodity, it is undeniable that the price of oil has risen dramatically since the 1920s (Macrotrends, 2019). Many reports suggest oil prices will rise further. There are new regulatory changes from the International Maritime Organization (IMO) taking place at the beginning of 2020, forcing shipping companies to opt for a lower sulphur fuel which will be in high demand and is being called “the biggest change in oil market history” (Meredith, 2018). Experts predict this to drive prices as high as $90 a barrel (for comparison prices currently sit around $55.26 a barrel as of March 2019) and fundamentally change the demand pattern for these fuels (AMEinfo, 2018). Alternatives do exist to this low sulphur fuel, including reducing sulphur emissions by installing “scrubbers” on existing vessels or new builds can be designed to run on the more environmentally friendly Liquid Natural Gas.
Picture Credit: (Perumal, 2018)
As well as fuel prices rising, in 2018 the shipping industry agreed to its first emissions target of reducing GHG emissions by 50% by 2050 (Financial Times, 2018). This was the first time the shipping industry had come to an agreement on such a target, with aviation – a similar industry in that it too is not governed by the UN climate agreement – having done so years prior. However, this deal organised by the IMO, is likely to leave other organisations still wanting further action such as the EU which had called for a reduction of at least 70%, suggesting there may yet be further targets set. This new target forces most new ships built after 2030 to avoid fossil fuels entirely (Gabbatiss, 2018). At a time when the energy demand of the industry is expected to grow 25% between 2014 and 2040 this presents a huge and brand new problem the industry has to face (Lele & Rao, 2017).
With growing pressure on the shipping industry from both a fuel price standpoint and to reduce emissions, Flettner rotors have become much more appealing than they were when they first set sail. Numbers of studies into the technology have exploded over the last ten years, including projects proving it as a viable technology for assisting a traditional engine, or as part of a completely electronic powered ship. Studies are route and vessel specific, but savings of around 15% are quoted (Traut, et al., 2012), with ambitious estimates claiming 30-40% (Enercon Gmbh, 2015), and World Maritime News states “Norsepower Oy’s Rotor Sail Solution alone could drive a circa 5% reduction in total industry emissions and is complementary to other efficiency technologies vital to decarbonisation” (World Maritime News, 2018). Regardless of which estimate to consider, all are optimistic for the future of FRs in the shipping industry and show the technology is not one to be disregarded because of its age.
The shipping industry is beginning to realise this with Flettner rotor company Norsepower Ltd. offering a payment plan in which companies repay the cost of the rotor from the savings from first years of operation, allowing companies without the upfront capital to consider installing the rotors. Shipping giants Maersk have installed two Flettner rotors on their product tanker the Maersk Pelican for testing throughout 2019. Flettner rotor fitted ship Ultramax has just been named the ship of 2018, highlighting that the status of this relatively unheard of technology is changing.
Picture credit: Anemoi (2019)
References
AMEinfo, 2018. This historical crude oil development to drive demand, prices, to the roof. [Online] Available at: [Accessed 25 February 2019].
Enercon Gmbh, 2015. Flettner Rotors- The Wind Turbines as Ship's Propulsion. [Online]
Available at: [Accessed 25 February 2019].
Financial Times, 2018. Shipping industry poised to agree first emissions target. [Online]
Available at: [Accessed 25 February 2019].
Gabbatiss, J., 2018. Carbon emissions from global shipping to be halved by 2050, says IMO. [Online] Available at: [Accessed 25 February 2019].
Lele, A. & Rao, K. V. S., 2017. Net Power Generated by Flettner Rotor for Different Values of Wind Speed and Ship Speed. s.l., ICCPT.
Macrotrends, 2019. Crude Oil Prices - 70 Year Historical Chart. [Online] Available at: [Accessed 25 February 2019].
Meredith, S., 2018. The 'biggest' change in oil market history: A shipping revolution could prompt crude prices to soar. [Online] Available at: [Accessed 25 February 2019].
Thiiink, n.d. History & Validation. [Online] Available at: [Accessed 31 January 2019].
Traut, M., Mander, S., Larkin, A. & Stansby, P. K., 2012. Low C for the High Seas Flettner rotor power contribution on a route Brazil to UK. s.l., s.n.
World Maritime News, 2018. Norsepower Oy: Wind Power Ready to Support Decarbonisation in Shipping. [Online] Available at: [Accessed 25 February 2019].
