(Commonwealth) _ The Pioneer of Belfast is a vessel developed by Artemis Technologies that employs a cutting-edge technology called foiling to significantly reduce its drag and improve its efficiency. Foiling involves fitting the vessel with a pair of wings or foils underneath the hull, which lifts the boat out of the water and allows it to glide smoothly over the surface with minimal resistance.
This technology has several advantages over traditional marine propulsion systems, even in rough waters and strong winds. For one, it drastically reduces fuel consumption, with Artemis claiming that the Pioneer of Belfast uses up to 90% less fuel than comparable vessels. This reduction in fuel usage also means that the ship emits no harmful emissions, making it an eco-friendly alternative to conventional marine vessels.
Katrina Thompson, the program director at Artemis Technologies, has described the technology as “extremely transformational” and believes that it could revolutionize the shipping industry. Not only does it reduce fuel consumption and emissions, but it also allows for faster and smoother sailing, making it a more attractive option for commercial and leisure vessels alike.
The Pioneer of Belfast is an exciting development in marine technology that has the potential to transform the way we travel over water. With its energy-efficient and eco-friendly design, it could play a significant role in reducing our carbon footprint and ensuring a more sustainable future for the planet. According to Dr. Thompson, “My dad couldn’t grasp it. “I then showed him the boat’s underside. Oh, it’s a wing, he said.” Aeronautical engineers, experts in flight controls and physics modeling, as well as naval architects, are all brought together by Artemis. According to him, the 11.5-meter-long Pioneer is perfectly suited for moving staff to and from offshore wind farms. The majority of international trade is transported by water. Around 3% of all worldwide emissions are attributable to the international marine industry.
In 2018, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) established 2050 as the deadline for a 50% reduction in emissions from 2008. Experts contend that the objective should be 100% in order to keep global warming to 1.5C. Thus, is it possible for the shipping business to improve? Boats can run on batteries over short distances, but for international transportation, green hydrogen-based fuels are expected to play a key part in decarbonizing the sector.
Nevertheless, switching to hydrogen would call for modifications to the fueling system. Significant obstacles include cost and storage. According to specialists at Cambridge University, synthetic photosynthesis (syngas) might close the energy gap between fossil fuels and pure hydrogen.mDr. Virgil Andrei, a research fellow at the University of Cambridge, claims that syngas, a combination of hydrogen and carbon monoxide, is a significant industrial intermediary in the manufacturing of traditional fuels like gasoline. We won’t need fossil fuels if we can generate syngas responsibly, the author claims.
As a punt glides down the River Cam, past Saint John’s College and beneath the Bridge of Sighs, tourists converse. The lake is glistening in the sunlight, its surface covered with the golds and reds of autumnal foliage. Artificial leaves that produce clean fuels from water and sunshine have been created by Dr. Andrei and his colleagues at Cambridge University. These leaves might potentially be used extensively at sea.
Two different types of light absorbers on the leaves allow them to capture sunlight. To create oxygen from water, one requires light that is blue in color. The other employs red light to convert carbon dioxide and protons into syngas or hydrogen. The Vega Gamley, another renovated ship that was acquired from a Swedish family that had owned her for many years, is prepared to transport organic Fair Trade coffee between the Americas.
The Vega will make up to eight journeys a year between Santa Marta, Colombia and New Jersey in the US. Each journey will last 16 days, with an additional 6 days at ports. Her sailing ships, some of which hold more than 20,000 containers, can only transport a minuscule portion of the cargo of a contemporary container ship. Yet, Ms. Milmore asserts that her smaller boats may bypass the traffic jams that beset the shipping sector.
