Future of Pellet shipments and other goods could soon be in the Wind!

Full Sails ahead! The future of pellet energy shipments 
could one day be the thing of sailing ships

Drax Energy, the British based energy corporation which operates the Pellet Shipment terminal on Prince Rupert's Waterfront has outlined an ambitious project underway that could bring back the days of the sailing ship, but with a new technology twist.

An item posted to the Drax website which has quickly become one of their most read entries charts the plans from the energy provider to make use of a new generation of shipping vessels.

An approach that will feature large mechanical sails, an initiative which if put in place on the Prince Rupert to Asia shipping run will make for a fascinating visual for Prince Rupert harbour watchers sometime in 2025 when the first vessels are anticipated to go into service.

Vessel calls at the Drax  Pellet Terminal on 
Prince Rupert's waterfront may look a little
bit different in 2025 with a potential
sail powered vessel under consideration for use by the 
UK Based biomass energy company
(image from PRPA ) 

The new shipping design which borrows from the past is one between the Drax Group and Japanese shipping company MOL Drybulk, their joint venture one to explore how to ship biomass product by vessels deploying wind power technology.

Among some of the key elements to the new (but time tested) Wind Challenger approach to shipping include:

Drax and MOL Drybulk partner to develop wind power technology that will reduce biomass shipping emissions by a fifth 

Newly built vessels will be fitted with MOL’s Wind Challenger hard sail technology, with first ship expected as soon as 2025 

The initiative is part of Drax’s plans to reduce its supply chain emissions and become carbon negative by 2030 using bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS)

Drax Group Chief Executive Will Gardiner provided a look at some of the enthusiasm that the energy company has towards the prospect of sailing ships carrying their product to market.

“MOL Drybulk’s hard sail technology has the potential to transform the maritime industry, cutting emissions and fuel costs and supporting global efforts to address the climate crisis. 

This partnership to advance this crucial new technology will support Drax’s commitment to reduce its own supply chain emissions and could also deliver far-reaching benefits across a number of different sectors that rely on ships to carry goods to customers around the world.” 

 

Two videos offer a glimpse into how the return to sail power in the modern age will look.

More notes on the involvement by Drax in the project can be explored here.

If the work by Drax and MOL proves to be a workable solution to shipping costs, the global shipping industry could adopt wind assisted propulsion as an option for getting many other goods into the global shipping supply chain.

Drax Energy finalized its purchase of Pinnacle Energy in Canada one year ago and in the last year has been rebranding much of the acquired terminals and other elements from the Pinnacle Days.

Their North American operations are detailed through this link to the Drax Website, as well as by way of Social media feeds on Twitter and Linkedin

More notes on the Prince Rupert Terminal operations can be reviewed from our archive page.