Hamburg, Wednesday, September 4th: bound4blue has reached a significant milestone in its mission to advance the maritime industry’s adoption of wind power. The company’s innovative eSAIL® technology has secured a full Type Approval Design Certificate (TADC) from DNV, one of the most respected classification societies in the world. This certification confirms that the eSAIL® complies fully with DNV’s Wind Assisted Propulsion Systems (WAPS) technical standards, aligning the technology with the industry’s most stringent requirements.
The TADC serves as a powerful endorsement of eSAIL’s® quality and safety, eliminating the need for individual validation by shipowners. This is expected to speed up the adoption process, making it easier for potential customers to take advantage of eSAIL’s® benefits, including reduced fuel consumption, lower emissions, and simplified regulatory compliance.
The eSAIL® represents a significant leap forward in green maritime technology. It uses a unique suction sail that drags air across an aerodynamic surface to generate propulsion, offering high efficiency with low weight and easy installation. This breakthrough technology has already attracted interest from several prominent shipping companies, such as Odfjell, Eastern Pacific Shipping, Amasus, Marflet, and the Louis Dreyfus Company.
David Ferrer, Co-founder and CTO of bound4blue, sees the TADC from DNV as a potential game-changer for the industry. “We’ve always been focused on developing a technology according to the very highest standards and meeting the most rigorous quality and safety requirements. Receiving the TADC from DNV provides third-party validation of that excellence, quality stamping our system and helping fast-track customer due diligence procedures. We believe this will work to accelerate the adoption process and facilitate further orders.”
Ferrer emphasizes that while wind has immense potential as a renewable energy source for maritime applications, it is also a powerful enabler for other alternative fuels. “This approval consolidates our position as a preferred partner, with a proven system,” he adds. “We aim to leverage it to cement our standing at the vanguard of the coming wind revolution.”
The DNV certification, known as the TADC (DNV Standard ST-0511 Wind-assisted Propulsion Systems), lays the foundation for eSAIL® installations on DNV-classed vessels. Hasso Hoffmeister, Senior Principal Engineer at DNV Maritime, highlights the growing importance of wind power in shipping: “Wind is an inexhaustible, free, zero carbon energy source, which is receiving increasing attention within the maritime industry. To harness its potential, owners require trusted systems, with validated technical and design compliance, to ensure the highest quality standards.”
Hoffmeister praises the collaboration with bound4blue, stating: “Our cooperation with the team at bound4blue has been excellent, and we’re very pleased to award this certification. We look forward to seeing the growth of wind as a green energy source for vessels worldwide, as we work together to make the maritime industry even more sustainable for the generations to come.”
The eSAIL® units offer substantial compliance benefits, including improved ratings under the Carbon Intensity Indicator (CII), boosts to the Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) and Energy Efficiency Existing Ship Index (EEXI), and compatibility with the new FuelEU Maritime regulations and the EU Emissions Trading Scheme. With the DNV TADC now in hand, bound4blue is pursuing additional certifications to further solidify its market position.
