GT Green Technologies Secures Grant Funding for Innovative AirWing™

[By: GT Green Technologies]

GT Green Technologies, UK-headquartered wind propulsion specialist, announces it has secured grant funding following success at this year’s Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition Round 2 (CDMC2). This funding from the Department of Transport will be allocated towards the development and launch of the company’s proprietary AirWing™ propulsion solution currently in development.

The Patent-Pending AirWing™ is a new-to-market product for shipowners, operators, and manufacturers. Utilising innovative AirFlow technology, AirWing™ maximises fuel economy and minimises carbon emissions, all whilst retaining a compact size and low-profile stowage functionality to ensure uninhibited loading and unloading of vessel cargo. 

Available as either a retrofit or newbuild option, AirWing™ maximises thrust output to produce between 10% - 30% fuel savings for retrofits and even greater savings for newbuilds.  

As lead organization, GT Green Technologies is working with a range of industry partners to submit this funding bid, including The Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC), SABE Fluid Dynamics, and expert aerodynamicists from Formula One and Americas Cups campaigns. The project also includes a strong board of advisory partners including an end user ship owner and operator, who have expressed interest in being the first adopter of this novel technology.

George Thompson, CEO of GT Green Technologies, said, ‘We are delighted to have secured this grant funding from the Department for Transport. This injection of funds will greatly accelerate developments of our wind propulsion system and provide us with the ability to enable an on-the-water prototype in the coming months. 

“We are delighted to work with such a great network of partners, catapulting us to the next stage of development and driving forward customer discussions – many of which are heating up as we speak!’.

Abbie Romano, Senior Research Engineer at The Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC), added, “We are overjoyed to have won CMDC2 funding and to have the opportunity to work with GT Green Technologies. Developing AirWing™ is a really exciting opportunity for ourselves and for the wider maritime renewable energies market-place. We are looking forward to working in partnership with all consortium members to bring our expertise to the table and collaborate for enhancing the system. Watch this space!”

The AirWing™ development  and feasibility study is part of the Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition Round 2 (CMDC2) which was launched in May 2022, funded by the Department for Transport and delivered in partnership with Innovate UK. As part of the CMDC2, the Department allocated over £14m to 31 projects supported by 121 organisations from across the UK to deliver feasibility studies and collaborative R&D projects in clean maritime solutions.

The CMDC2 is part of the UK Shipping Office for Reducing Emission’s (UK SHORE) flagship multi-year CMDC programme. In March 2022, the Department announced the biggest government investment ever in the UK commercial maritime sector, allocating £206m to UK SHORE, a new division within the Department for Transport focused on organisations within the maritime sector. UK SHORE is delivering a suite of interventions throughout 2022-2025 aimed at accelerating the design, manufacture and operation of UK-made clean maritime technologies and unlocking an industry-led transition to Net Zero.

GT Green Technologies is working closely with US-based marine industry Organization, PEI TECH LLC, to bring AirWing™ to market and provide a sustainable, cost-effective fuelling solution for ship owners and operators across the globe.