Inventor(s): Rajat Mittal, Jung Hee Seo, Christopher Williams, Rui Ni
Unmet Need
The changing landscape in the global maritime shipping market has brought a greater emphasis on sustainability and focus on reducing the overall environmental impact of shipping. Currently, the global maritime shipping market accounts for 2.7% of global CO2 emissions, which combined with rising fuel costs and changing laws surrounding fuel content, highlights the need for increased efficiency in shipping vessels.
Technology Overview
Researchers at Johns Hopkins University have improved upon the existing Flettner Rotor by adding a mechanism that imparts localized suction on the spinning rotor. This updated rotor design leads to an increase in aerodynamic thrust of 80-180%, cutting down time-of-transit, fuel costs, and CO2 emissions.
Stage of Development
Currently, the design has been validated via computer models and simulations. Next steps include scaled mockups and prototypes for the design.
