The International Windship Association (IWSA) Wind Propulsion Innovation Awards 2016 took place at the SMM trade fair in Hamburg, Germany last week, recognising the pioneers of technical innovation in wind propulsion.
In July 2014 40 nominations were received across the four categories. The nominees were assessed and shortlisted by a panel of experts from across the shipping sector and online votes were invited to increase awareness of this industry sector. Over 4000 votes in total were cast.
According to IWSA, the Innovation Award was the most hotly contested of the three categories. Norsepower and UT Windchallenger secured the most votes from the judges but E-Ship 1’s 1500 online votes made it the winner of the INSB Class sponsored Innovation Award.
The Wind Propulsion Technology End-User Award, which recognises the courage and commitment shown by ship owners to support the development of novel technologies was won by Enercon, following its long term commitment to supporting development and operation of the flettner rotors on the E-Ship 1.
Both Bore and SolarSailor were recognised for their contributions to accelerating the development of wind propulsion technologies and Fair Transport for their part in reviving traditional sail cargo.
The Research Award, which was sponsored by Norsepower, was won by the University of South Pacific’s Sustainable Sea Transport Research Programme following the work they have done to create opportunities from windships as part of efforts to create greater resilience in small island communities.
The Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to dynarig system Wilhelm Proells and Bernd Wagner for their work over decades on Dynarig sail systems and wind propulsion project.
Gavin Allwright, IWSA Secretary General commented: “Congratulations to all the windship pioneers who participated in this inaugural Award programme. It is gratifying to know that such good progress is being made and that both the industry and wider public appreciate the potential from this renewable energy.”
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