A wind-assisted propulsion system developer says they have addressed a significant ATEX certification challenge that has hindered adoption in the tanker sector
According to its architects, repositioning maintenance access points away from hazardous zones eliminates a cost barrier that has made such systems economically challenging for vessels carrying flammable cargoes.
The approach comes from bound4blue, a Spanish cleantech company founded in 2014 by aeronautical engineers José Miguel Bermúdez, Cristina Aleixendri and David Ferrer Desclaux. The company develops automated wind-assisted propulsion systems for commercial shipping through its eSAIL technology, a rigid suction sail designed to reduce fuel consumption by generating additional thrust from wind.
“We’ve found a way of putting non-ATEX-proof equipment on tanker vessels that have hazardous zones,” states bound4blue chief technical officer and cofounder, David Ferrer Desclaux. “This gives us an advantage compared with other technologies because they need to be ATEX-proof, which makes them more expensive.”
bound4blue’s lateral thinking – quite literally – produced a transformative approach, “Instead of accessing from below, we go in from the side. The lower side of our section area is now a door so we can go on the platform, go on our winglet and get into the system. Both the equipment and the access are from outside.
“If you put the equipment outside hazardous zones, that’s fine. But usually, the access is from below,” says Mr Ferrer Desclaux. “An opening in the foundation creates an opening to a hazardous zone, so the full confined space becomes a hazardous zone.”
Mr Ferrer Desclaux’s aerospace engineering background has profoundly shaped bound4blue’s approach to maritime challenges, bringing both advantages and initial hurdles.
“When we started bound4blue, our background had nothing to do with shipping. We had no idea about shipping,” he acknowledges. “That had both positive and negative aspects. The negative was obviously having to learn a lot. But it also allowed us to approach problems differently.”
Its suction sail technology – drawing from aircraft wing design principles – epitomises this cross-sector innovation approach.
