With the aim of becoming emission-free by 2040, Scandlines is embarking on the next step – the installation of a Norsepower Rotor Sail on the hybrid ferry, ‘Berlin’.
Since 2013, Scandlines has invested more than €300 mill in building and converting conventional ferries into hybrid vessels.
For example, in 2020, the ferry operator added wind propulsion technology to the list of its green initiatives by installing a Norsepower Rotor Sail on the hybrid ropax ‘Copenhagen’, which operates on the Rostock/Gedser route between Germany and Denmark.
With the Rotor Sail from Finland’s Norsepower, Scandlines has reduced CO2 emissions from the hybrid ferry by an average of 4% and, on good days with optimal wind conditions, by as much as 20%, the company claimed.
The Rotor Sail – a 30 m high rotating cylinder – is a modern version of the Flettner rotor and the technology is based on the Magnus effect. When wind meets the spinning Rotor Sail, the airflow accelerates on one side of the Rotor Sail and decelerates on the opposite side. The change in the speed of airflow results in a pressure difference, which creates a lift force that is perpendicular to the wind flow direction. This lift force allows Scandlines to reduce the use of its vessels’ diesel engines and therefore reduces both the fuel consumption and associated emissions.
The technology has the optimum effect when there is a wind blowing at around 20 m per sec, a little abaft abeam and the wind is perpendicular to the sail.
Gedser to the north and Rostock to the south is almost perpendicular to the prevailing wind from the west (or a little less frequently east) giving Scandlines favourable conditions for using Rotor Sails on the crossing, the company explained.
Michael Guldmann Petersen, COO, Scandlines, said: “After positive experiences with the Rotor Sail on the Scandlines hybrid ferry ‘Copenhagen’, Scandlines had prepared the sister ferry ‘Berlin’ for a Rotor Sail as well. We are happy to see, that the installation was successfully completed and that the ferry went into operation again as planned.”
On 16th May, 2022, Scandlines installed the Norsepower Rotor Sail on ‘Berlin’ at Rostock while the ferry was out of service for a few hours.
Tuomas Riski, CEO, Norsepower, added: “Scandlines is taking the international GHG emissions reductions targets extremely seriously and is demonstrating a leading approach to investing in innovation to supersede these. Expanding its use of our Rotor Sail technology on its second vessel highlights the viability of wind power, and the significance of the emissions savings which can be achieved.”
The Rotor Sail solution is fully automated. It measures the wind speed and direction and based on these measurements calculates whether use of the sail will reduce emissions. If so, it starts automatically.
However, for specific port areas, which are not suitable for Rotor Sail use, the system has settings to ensure the technology will not be activated.
