BlueNose, a London-based maritime innovation startup, has been awarded £350,000 through the UK Government’s Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition (CMDC6) to advance two pioneering concepts for aerodynamic vessel efficiency, in collaboration with lomarlabs.
Project WAVE Advances Aerodynamic Retrofits for Ships
Funded by the Department for Transport’s UK SHORE (UK Shipping Office for Reducing Emissions) program, delivered by Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation, the seven-month feasibility study to support Project WAVE (Wind Deflector Aerodynamics for Vessel Efficiency) will run until March 2026. It will advance two aerodynamic module concepts—inflatable and foldable wind deflectors—and explore how they can deliver significant fuel and emissions reductions across the global shipping fleet.
The project combines algorithm refinement, data analysis, and design strategy into a single program. Using precise fuel consumption data from Lomar vessels, correlated with European satellite weather datasets, BlueNose will refine its shape-generation algorithm to optimize aerodynamic performance. The team will also design a comprehensive assembly strategy for modular deployment and work with leading classification societies to map out the approval in principle process. A hazard identification study and a detailed roadmap for scaling to onboard demonstrators will complete the study.
The potential impact is considerable. In best-case scenarios for large vessels, BlueNose’s technology is expected to deliver up to 5% fuel savings for vessels. Alongside carbon, the retrofit reduces particulate matter, NOx, SOx, and CO, contributing to improved air quality in ports and coastal communities.
For the UK economy, the benefits extend across the value chain. Initial analysis based on containerships around 8,000-TEU indicates that vessel operators can stand to save on up to £750K per vessel annually in fuel costs. Suppliers and manufacturers will see new demand for materials and advanced composites. The wider UK maritime sector will gain competitiveness through improved fuel efficiency and reduced emissions, while ports will strengthen their position as attractive regional hubs for clean retrofit activity.
Léon Grillet, Co-Founder and CEO of BlueNose, said: “This grant allows us to take the next practical step on our journey—a focused feasibility study where we test two aerodynamic module concepts, refine our algorithms, and map out the approval pathway with classification societies. The maritime sector is often seen as slow to change, but with support from CMDC6 and collaborators like lomarlabs and Lomar we can move quickly, gathering the evidence and insights that will bring aerodynamic retrofits from concept to reality.”
UK-Backed Project Builds Confidence for Rapid Deployment
Stylianos Papageorgiou, Managing Director of lomarlabs, said: “Ship aerodynamics is sometimes overlooked in cargo vessel design. It is a small part of total resistance and propulsion power requirements, but we are looking to make efficiency gains wherever we can find them. This initiative promises significant gains at an affordable cost. Improved aerodynamics also improve the thrust generated by wind-assisted ship propulsion (WASP) systems, improving their ROI. Project WAVE will combine BlueNose’s algorithms with real fuel consumption data from our fleet to generate proposed modifications that a Class Society can approve. This feasibility study will give us the evidence, the strategy, and the confidence to move quickly toward deployment. It’s exactly the kind of deep-tech collaboration that accelerates maritime decarbonization.”
Neale Ryan, Head of Land and Maritime Transport at Innovate UK, said: “We’re proud to support a range of technologies through the UK SHORE program to improve efficiency, sustainability, and productivity of the maritime sector. Data-driven solutions are an important part of this, and projects like this demonstrate their potential to boost the UK economy while reducing the environmental impact of shipping, showing what can be achieved when we support innovative UK businesses to tackle industry challenges and advance the UK Industrial Strategy.”
Nicholas Georgiou, CEO of Lomar, said: “Once again, we are supporting an initiative that has the potential to deliver real value for commercial shipping and vessel design in the wider maritime sector. This BlueNose concept promises great efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and sustainability for shipping. We are indebted to the support of the UK Government through its UK SHORE, clean maritime program.”
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Source: oceannews
