Performance monitoring and verification drives orders and investment for Norsepower

29.01.2016

NAPA data analysis and fuel-saving verification leads to €3 million investment and first commercial order for a Flettner rotor

Helsinki, Finland – 29 January 2016 – Finnish engineering company, Norsepower today announced that it has received €3million in investment from a syndicate led by venture capital fund Power Fund III and has installed a second rotor sail on Bore’s Ro-Ro vessel MS Estraden. Data analysis and verification by NAPA, the leading maritime data analysis, software and services provider, has been fundamental to these developments by proving the effectiveness of Norsepower’s technology. 

A single Norsepower Rotor Sail was installed on the 9,700 DWT Ro-Ro carrier in late 2014. Although the weather conditions were largely calm over the three-month trial, data analysis from vessel performance monitoring and verification software, ClassNK-NAPA GREEN, demonstrated that the rotor sail delivered clear and significant savings of 2.5%. Based on this evidence, Bore has ordered a second installation; the first commercial order for a Flettner rotor in shipping. Doubling the rotor sails has now proven to double fuel savings; NAPA recorded a 6.1% reduction in fuel consumption, avoiding 1,200 tonnes of CO2 emissions annually. 

Measurement, analytics and third-party verification has helped Norsepower evolve its rotor sail from an innovative system for trial, to a proven and marketable fuel efficiency technology with a clear business case. In addition to the expanded market potential, this evidence has also helped Norsepower increase its enterprise value and secure the future of the business. A syndicate led by Power Fund III, a Clean tech venture fund managed by VNT Management, has invested €3 million to support Norsepower’s growth and market expansion.

Tuomas Riski, CEO, Norsepower commented: “Since delivering our first proven application with Bore last year, our business has grown from strength to strength. With this significant investment from VNT and our first commercial installation, we have now cemented our position as leaders in the growing wind technology market. Objective data and impartial verification of the fuel savings delivered by the technology has been absolutely critical to this evolution and will remain central to the way in which we work with shipowners and operators.”

Jouni Salo, Product Manager, Shipping Solutions, NAPA commented: “Independent verification of Norsepower’s technology has required a significant and complex analysis process. The operating route of the vessel posed many challenges from differing wind conditions to varying sea depths, all of which impact fuel consumption and had to be accounted for with randomised trialling, robust data collection and advanced statistical modelling. The results, however, have made it all worthwhile. The two-sail installation is delivering the largest fuel saving of any efficiency technology NAPA has measured. We talk figures of Rotor Sails being effective 80% of sailing time, 460kW average propulsion boost and 1.5MW peaking for 10% of time. The fact that NAPA has not only proven this eco-efficiency technology, but also boosted Norsepower’s enterprise value through orders and investment really shows the power of big data when applied correctly.” 

Victoria Stulgis, Senior Associate, Carbon War Room commented: “It is great to see Norsepower, Bore and NAPA collaborating to pilot this technology and conduct rigorous data analysis. These first movers are key to demonstrating that efficiency technologies such as wind have proven savings, which can unlock new sources of investment for Flettner rotors and other technologies that can deliver significant efficiency gains.” 

The Norsepower Rotor Sail Solution is a modernised version of the Flettner rotor - a spinning cylinder that uses the Magnus effect to harness wind power to propel a ship. When the wind conditions are favourable, Norsepower Rotor Sails allow the main engines to be throttled back, saving fuel and reducing emissions while providing the power needed to maintain speed and voyage time. Rotor sails can be used with new vessels or can be retrofitted on existing ships without off-hire costs.

About NAPA

In its nearly 30 years of operation, NAPA has become a global leader in maritime software,services and data analysis for the maritime industry; providing best in class data-led solutions for safety, efficiency and productivity in both ship design and operations. 

NAPA operates globally, with eleven offices across Asia, Europe and the Americas supported by its Helsinki headquarters. To date, NAPA has nearly 400 user organisations for its design solutions and 2,000 installations onboard vessels. For more information, visit www.napa.fi

About Norsepower

Norsepower Oy Ltd is a leading Finnish marine engineering company specialising in clean tech solutions within the marine sector. Since its establishment in November 2012, Norsepower has gathered more than $6 million USD of funding, which has enabled development, testing and piloting of the Norsepower Rotor Sail Solution. The main investors behind Norsepower are VNT Management, Finnvera Oyj, Lifeline Ventures and Wate Oy. Norsepower is also funded by Tekes – the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation. Norsepower is the global market leader in cargo vessel auxiliary wind propulsion systems. For more information, please visit www.norsepower.com.

About Carbon War Room

Carbon War Room (CWR) is a global nonprofit organization, founded by Sir Richard Branson and a team of like-minded entrepreneurs, to accelerate the adoption of business solutions that reduce carbon emissions at gigaton scale and advance the low-carbon economy. Carbon War Room has Operations in Shipping Efficiency, Trucking Efficiency, and Smart Island Economies.
Carbon War Room launched Shipping Efficiency in 2010. Since then, it has worked with RightShip to develop the A to G GHG Emissions Rating and make it publicly available at ShippingEfficiency.org. In collaboration with UCL Energy Institute and other industry experts, CWR has created new financing models for efficiency retrofits and partnered with investor EfficientShip Finance to make $25 million available for these retrofits. For more information, go to www.carbonwarroom.com


Media Enquiries

Kate Astley
BLUE Communications
T: +44 1865 514 214
E: kate@blue-comms.com


Norse1

Bore’s Ro-Ro vessel MS Estraden with two Norsepower Rotor Sails installed onboard.


Norse2

True wind speed distribution over tested period

Archive

2023
24.10.2023HD Hyundai makes a Strategic Investment in Elcogen
26.09.2023SolydEra and Convion to jointly address growth in fuel-cell and hydrogen market
04.05.2023Convion And Shell Form Partnership To Commercialise Solid Oxide Electrolysers (SOEC)
04.05.2023Norsepower secures €28 million from investors
2022
13.12.2022Octopus Energy Group’s Kraken acquires Power Fund III investee Depsys
18.08.2022Norsepower signs agreement with Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Co. Ltd. to install Rotor Sails onboard two newbuild CO2 carrier vessels
10.05.2022Elcogen receives €24 million investment from HydrogenOne
2021
21.07.2021Merus Power Oyj:n First North -listautumisanti on ylimerkitty, yhtiölle noin 8 000 uutta osakkeenomistajaa – kaupankäynti alkaa arviolta 8.6.2021
15.05.2021Kestävän ja energiatehokkaan tulevaisuuden mahdollistava teknologiayhtiö Merus Power suunnittelee listautumista First North - markkinapaikalle
01.05.2021Cority Acquires Power Fund III Investee WeSustain
2020
18.12.2020Half of the Top 10 "most sustainable companies in Germany" rely on WeSustain as software partner
21.01.2020Test of wind propulsion on Maersk Pelican completed: Norsepower Rotor Sails confirmed savings of 8.2% fuel and associated CO2 on Maersk Pelican
21.01.2020OGCI Climate investments leads MEUR8 investment in Norsepower
21.01.2020Elcogen Named Winner of Innovation at European Business Awards 2019
2019
01.10.2019Introducing WeSustain’s ESG Management
02.09.2019Swiss smart grid expert opens subsidiary in Singapore
12.02.2019CHF 13.2 million: Successful financing round strengthens DEPsys in Smart Grid growth market
12.02.2019#InnovFin: EUR 12 million loan from EU to Estonian clean tech company Elcogen
2018
31.10.2018Cajo Technologies Oy voitti Kasvu Open 2018 kilpailun
31.10.2018Cajo Technologies Oy is the winner of Growth Open (in Finnish: Kasvu Open) 2018 competition
08.02.2018Wello to export Wave Energy Converters to China
08.02.2018New clean energy system to make Finnish business district self-sufficient
18.01.2018Swiss Smart Grid Solution Company DEPsys Raises Additional CHF 2 Million of Funding
2017
09.11.2017Convion SOFC generates zero emission electricity and heat from biogas in Italy
02.11.2017Power Fund II investee Visedo sold
21.09.2017Visedo CEO, Kimmo Rauma, Takes Electric Message to the World
30.05.2017Maersk Tankers in wind power project
11.05.2017DEPsys has been selected for global energy startup accelerator program Free Electrons
11.05.2017Superb performance with renewable biogas
06.03.2017Application test of innovative off-grid power supply
02.03.2017Norsepower Rotor Sail Solution to be installed onboard Viking line cruise ferry vessel
2016
19.12.2016Visedo is ready to take a global lead in providing smart and high performance electric drivetrain systems
07.09.2016WeSustain develops reporting software for the partnership for sustainable textiles
13.06.2016Swiss Smart Grid Solution Company DEPsys Raises CHF 3 Million of Financing
22.03.2016Finnish Laser Marking Machine Provider Cajo Technologies heads to US markets
29.01.2016Performance monitoring and verification drives orders and investment for Norsepower
11.01.2016Visedo joins forces with Dutch marine electric system expert Electric Power Conversion B.V.
2015
03.11.2015Sustainability Management 2.0“ – WeSustain receives top marks
30.10.2015WeSustain becomes a SASB Enterprise Resource Platform (ERP) Partner
11.06.2015Visedo’s electric drive trains to equip world’s largest electric ferryboat
14.01.2015Merus Power wins its biggest contract ever
2014
14.12.2014Growth capital for WeSustain (Series B)
21.10.2014Self-Sufficient and Emission-Free Energy to Go
2013
21.10.2013Fuel cell company Siqens receives funding from Finnish investor VNT Management Oy and German KfW Bank
11.10.2013Mobilemarking Gets Nearly
€1 Million in Funding for Internationalization
10.09.2013Wello’s Wave Energy Converter Producing Clean Energy
06.05.2013GASEK Oy, CCM-Power Oy and Asmacon Oy to combine their business
31.01.2013Final Closing of Power Fund III
16.01.2013Valopaa Receives a Significant Capital Investment from VNT Management