Gizmos & Gadgets: Ecoship to be Unveiled at COP 21 on December 5th

December 3, 2015 – Two days from now the plans for the world’s greenest cruise ship will be unveiled in Paris. The Ecoship, pictured below, is to be built over the next four years and put into service in 2020.

Conceived by Japan’s Peace Boat, it will feature a unique appearance that emulates whales, 10 retractable solar-paneled Energy Sails and a set of retractable wind generators. A patent has been issued in Japan to Eco Marine Power, the company that developed the unique renewable energy propulsion system that will run the ship. Called the Aquarius MRE System, I first reported on its development back in July of 2012. This unique system features integrated rigid sails, solar panels, energy storage modules and a computer control system. Since 2012 wind generators have been added into the mix. A separate patent has been filed for the Energy Sails.

The Aquarius MRE System and Energy Sails are promising technological innovations that could lead to a new generation of cargo ships. Today 45,000 travel the world’s oceans, lakes and rivers, most burning low-grade bunker fuel, producing carbon dioxide in amounts equal to millions of gasoline-powered cars.

Can existing ships sport Energy Sails? A hybrid systems that includes a combination of traditional engines and the Aquarius MRE could not only reduce greenhouse gas emissions but save on annual fuel use dramatically.

In its first year of operation the Ecoship plans to visit 80 ports and host up to 5,000 passengers to demonstrate its climate-friendly alternative to today’s ships.

We’ll learn more on December 5th so stay tuned.