Norsepower secures government funding to scale production

The Climate Fund is a Finnish government entity that invests in new technologies that can help curb climate change.

Wind propulsion specialist Norsepower uses rotor sail towers to assist with ship propulsion. Rotor sails harness wind to generate thrust and reduce both fuel consumption and emissions, with savings of between 5-20%, depending on the wind conditions and vessel route.

The Norsepower sail is a modernised version of the Flettner rotor, a spinning cylinder that uses the Magnus effect to harness wind power to thrust a ship.

Norsepower chief executive Tuomas Riski commented, “Norsepower is an ambitious growth company and the Climate Fund’s investment accelerates the scale-up of our production considerably from what we could have achieved with organic growth alone. The involvement of a state entity also lends us credibility abroad.”

Two years ago, the company announced its first newbuild order for the installation of five tilting rotor sails on board a large bulk carrier. Last month, French shipowner Socatra contracted Norsepower to retrofit two rotor sails aboard 50,000-dwt medium range tanker Alcyone. The sails will be delivered December 2023 from the company’s new production centre in China.

“The reduction of shipping emissions is an important step on the way to carbon-neutral logistics and transport. Like many others, this climate challenge requires several parallel solutions. Norsepower’s rotor sails are an immediately available solution, especially for emissions-intensive ocean tankers. The Climate Fund’s investment accelerates the product’s scale-up on the market and thus also its emissions reductions”, said Finnish Climate Fund chief executive Paula Laine.

The Finnish manufacturer is also involved in the high-profile Northern Lights carbon capture project where Japan’s K Line will operate two LCO2 carriers sporting Norsepower rotor sails.