2020 was a busy year for Anemoi and saw the commercialisation of the business, the previous focus being research and development. With the industry looking for solutions to tackle the environmental impact of shipping, the timing was right to take our Rotor Sails and accompanying Fixed, Rail and Folding Deployment Systems to market. To support this, six employees joined our team in 2020 in the finance, marketing and engineering departments and we welcomed a further two employees in January this year. We plan to continue expanding our team in 2021 to support the growing market.

In October of 2020, we announced our collaboration with Wärtsilä, a global leader in smart technologies and complete lifecycle solutions. Wartsila will offer Anemoi Rotor Sails and Deployment Systems as part of their environmental solutions and propulsion portfolio. This collaboration strengthens our offering and facilitates the global uptake of our Rotor Sails by offering clients a full end-to-end solution including sales, supply and lifecycle support.

Other exciting developments last year included winning the Greek Energy Award in the maritime sector and the release of our new website, which provides more information about our Rotor Sails and the associated savings.

We were also honoured to be awarded two grants from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) via Green Tech South in collaboration with the University of Portsmouth – the EMphasis3 CO2 Reductions Programme and Low Carbon Solent Programme. We look forward to delivering these projects in 2021!

Despite this, we recognise that COVID-19 hit the world hard 2020 and continues to impact our lives as we move into the new year. Our thoughts go out to all those affected and our thanks to the key workers, many in the maritime industry, who have continued to keep the world turning and provide essential support throughout the pandemic.

Throughout 2021, we’ll complete six AiP(Approval in Principle) ship integration designs for different ships types, a mix of tankers and bulk carriers, as part of a Joint Development Project entered with Lloyd’s Register and Shanghai Merchant Ship Design & Research Institute (SDARI). These designs will be available off the shelf for the global market and will include various sizes in Anemoi’s range of Rotor Sails including the Fixed, Rail and Folding Deployment systems.

These projects explore the “Wind-Ready” ship concept as well, which we coined in 2020. ‘Wind Ready’ ships are prepared to receive Rotor Sails at any point in the lifespan of the ship, meaning the upfront integration work can be completed at any given time whereas adding the Rotor Sails hereafter is a simple lift and drop operation. As ship owners begin preparing their existing vessels for compliance with the EEXI for 2023, this is a low CAPEX option, offering ship owners flexibility and the ability to spread their investment of the technology. By making a ship ‘Wind Ready’, installation of the Rotor Sails can be staggered to follow EEDI and EEXI development. As new phases are mandated, additional Rotor Sails can be easily installed to meet the next phase.

We expect the uptake of wind propulsion to increase this year so look out for even more exciting partnerships with industry leaders, including ship owners and charterers as we launch our new scalable design this year – bigger and better than ever!

Things are looking up for 2021 and we, like the rest of the world, are hopeful that this year takes us back to some form of normality.

Happy New Year from the Anemoi Team!