New EU project to cut emissions and fuel costs through wind propulsion in shipping

AWESOME — Advanced Wind Energy System Optimisation & Monitoring for Efficiency – is a Horizon Europe project that delivers validated tools, standardised methodologies and real-world performance data to reduce uncertainty around wind propulsion systems (WPS). This enables shipowners and regulators to make informed decisions, lowering investment risk and accelerating the adoption of cost-effective emission reduction solutions in shipping.

Led by Kongsberg Maritime and supported by 14 European partners, the Horizon Europe-funded project brings together industry, clusters and research institutions to support the transition to low- and zero-emission shipping. AWESOME tackles technical, operational and regulatory barriers that still limit wider deployment of wind propulsion.

“Wind propulsion is one of the most attractive pathways to compliant, cost-effective shipping. We believe AWESOME represents a major step forward in scaling this technology“, says Kjerstin Kleyne Braaten, SVP Emerging Solutions at Kongsberg Maritime.

Through strong collaboration with industry, research and academic partners, awesome aims to make wind propulsion a viable and scalable solution for reducing emissions in shipping through real-world validation and stronger integration with onboard systems. By combining transparent performance verification with holistic control and automation, the project will enable fleets to meet emerging frameworks such as FuelEU Maritime and future IMO standards. This allows shipowners to postpone the adoption of costly low carbon fuels.

Odfjell’s 49,000 DWT chemical tanker has been retrofitted with four 22-metre eSAIL® suction sails from bound4blue. The vessel has already demonstrated fuel savings of around 20% on selected voyages, making it a strong platform for improving WAPS control, onboard monitoring and crew training.

Reducing risk and scaling solutions

Shipping must decarbonise quickly to meet climate targets, yet adoption of WAPS has been slowed by uncertainty over performance, cost and operational impact. AWESOME will tackle these challenges by delivering validated performance data and decision-support tools that strengthen confidence in investment decisions.

Full-scale demonstrations at sea

A central element of the project is the use of two full-scale demonstrators—one retrofit and one newbuild. The retrofit case, Odfjell Chemical Tanker (Odfjell Management), will show how WAPS can be integrated into existing vessels, while the newbuild, Neoliner Origin (Neoline), will demonstrate how the technology can be optimised from the design stage.

Together, these vessels will allow the consortium to validate performance models, test advanced methods for measuring thrust and energy savings, and assess long-term operational behaviour under real operating conditions. These demonstrators will provide robust real-world data across vessel types and operating conditions, helping the industry reduce risk and accelerate deployment at scale.

Supporting industry uptake and regulation

“Europe is currently a global leader in wind assisted propulsion technologies. The AWESOME project is another important step to increase European leadership, by pooling public and private resources, ensuring large scale deployment of wind assisted propulsion. This will not only result in lowering emissions, but in being able to sail as economically as viable with sustainable alternative fuels as well”, says Jaap Gebraad, Secretary General, Waterborne Technology Platform.

AWESOME will also support wider industry uptake by improving how WAPS performance is measured, documented and recognised. In parallel, the project will generate knowledge relevant to crews, operators and future regulatory development.

Bow Olympus at Mongstad, Norway. Aerial view of the vessel equipped with four eSAIL® suction sails. Photo: Ruben Soltvedt.

About the project

AWESOME brings together 15 leading European partners spanning the full maritime value chain. This broad partnership supports an end-to-end approach, from design and simulation to onboard control, crew training, performance verification and market uptake.

• Technology developers and system integrators:mKongsberg Maritime (NO) (Coordinator), Syroco (F), bound4blue (ES), Chantiers de l’Atlantique (F)
• Shipowners and operators: Odfjell Management (NO), NEOLine (F)
• Research partners: SINTEF Ocean (NO), SINTEF Digital (NO), NTUA (G), MARIN (NL)
• Design and engineering: MAURIC (F)
• Classification and verification: DNV (NO & DE)
• Center for decarbonisation and dissemination: Maritime CleanTech (NO)

bound4blue will contribute to AWESOME as a technology provider, bringing its expertise in wind propulsion across design, integration and real-scale validation activities. The company will support the development and comparison of simulation tools, contribute to retrofit and newbuild design concepts, and help co-design the project’s holistic control and management system to support the integration of wind propulsion with onboard systems. 

bound4blue will also play a key role in the full-scale demonstrator, leading the installation of advanced force measurement sensors and supporting data collection and performance assessment at sea.

These activities, will help generate robust operational data, improve performance verification methodologies and support to standardisation efforts, ultimately strengthening confidence in wind propulsion and accelerating its adoption across the maritime industry.