Optimal integrated onboard renewable energy solutions, by considering Wind-Assisted Propulsion Systems (ZEWT Partnership)

Topic updates

16 September 2025

The call for proposals HORIZON-CL5-2025-04 closed on 04/09/2025. 167 proposals were submitted to the call. The breakdown per topic is:

HORIZON-CL5-2025-04-D5-15 (IA): 6

Optimal integrated onboard renewable energy solutions, by considering Wind-Assisted Propulsion Systems (ZEWT Partnership)

TOPIC ID: HORIZON-CL5-2025-04-D5-15

Type of grant: Call for proposals

General information

Programme:

Call: Cluster 5 Call 04-2025 (WP 2025) (HORIZON-CL5-2025-04)

Type of action: HORIZON-IA HORIZON Innovation Actions

Type of MGA: HORIZON Action Grant Budget-Based [HORIZON-AG]

Status: Open for submission

Deadline model: single-stage

Opening Date: 06 May 2025

Deadline dates: 04 September 2025 17:00 (Brussels time)

Topic description

Expected Outcome:

Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:

• Development and demonstration of a standardised methodology for monitoring, recording and verification of energy used from Wind Assisted Propulsion devices directly into ship propulsion. The methodology is expected to allow integration of wind energy used in propulsion of ships directly into calculations of GHG intensity of the energy used on-board, both in context of Fuel EU maritime and International Maritime Organization (IMO) Life Cycle assessment (LCA) guidelines;
• Provision of a standardised framework to ensure certainty in the claims regarding fuel, Greenhouse Gas (GHG) and other polluting emission reduction by Wind-Assisted Propulsion (WAP) systems, strengthening the implementation of the FuelEU Maritime Regulation;
• Uniform rules, regulations, assessment criteria, and sea-trial procedures for WAP solutions are explored and established, facilitating the market uptake of WAP systems;
• Standardisation efforts to implement the IMO Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA) guidelines are supported;
• Market uptake of WAP systems into existing vessels in the coming decade is facilitated, by introducing a set of standardised design alternatives and criteria for decision-making, as part of a standardised framework;
• Concerns about the safety and operational impacts on ships, port and other land infrastructure are addressed, as well as the lack of market confidence in the technology;
• Contribution to the competitiveness and strategic autonomy of the EU waterborne sector, in line with the Communication on European Economic Security Strategy. The EU waterborne industry, including shipyards and equipment manufacturers will gain an increased competitive advantage through the development of key and cost-effective solutions for WAP systems.

Scope:

WAP systems (e.g., rotor sails, rigid wing sails, soft wing sails, ventilated foil system, etc.) have gained significant attention as means of reducing ship fuel consumption, and GHG and other emissions, while they are also considered as primary means of propulsion for future newbuilt cases. Several ongoing EU-funded projects are already working on WAP systems with focus on holistic optimised ship design, control, and operation, including changes in conventional propeller propulsion, and focused on Deep Sea Shipping (DSS). However, there is still a variety of barriers and challenges that need to be addressed; the main challenges are to provide certainty on emission saving performance, define standards, while also facilitating WAP retrofitting. The aim of the topic is to develop a methodology that will allow to quantify and monitor the real impact of WAP systems into ship propulsion.

Proposals are expected to address all of the following aspects:

• Demonstration of at least one full scale WAP solution and its management and monitoring on-board. This demonstration will be used to also validate the methodology for integration of the energy provided by the WAP devices to the ship propulsion;
• Develop a holistic framework for the design optimisation for wind-assisted propulsion, either as a means of enhanced energy efficiency, or primary propulsion solution; the framework should work as design tool to facilitate the industry uptake of WAP technologies by introducing tailor-made solutions for various ship types, based on their operational profiles and navigation routes;
• Use of systems for advanced monitoring of energy consumption, performance optimisation, energy savings, mitigation of GHG and other polluting emissions. The project should make optimal use of state-of-the-art sensor and digital technologies with a view to achieve continuous monitoring of energy made available from WAP devices; methodology should cover various types of WAP and should be applicable for all types of ships and operations;
• Assessment of environmental and wider benefits, including reduced emissions of air and water pollutants, underwater noise, biodiversity as well as cost-effectiveness for either standalone WAP solutions or combinations with other low and zero-emission technologies and/or energy efficiency measures;
• Focus on safety and operational aspects, for addressing any technical and operational challenges that may arise from the introduction of WAP systems – and possible combinations with other energy efficiency solutions – for ships and ports, including other land infrastructure;
• Addressing scalability and adaptability issues to the existing fleet, such as efforts to promote the standardisation of the different solutions, and application of the solution considering the real environmental conditions and the impact of climate change in wind patterns;
• Examine a variety of business cases and propose a number of market measures to address the lack of market confidence in WAP solutions and the uptake of such systems in the maritime industry.

Proposals are expected to explain the contribution of their objectives, results, IP management and exploitation strategy to the EU added value creation and strategic autonomy throughout the supply and value chain, including competitiveness of the EU waterborne industry, enhancement of the EU’s R&I capacity, technological know-how capabilities and human capital, and resilience of the EU industrial and manufacturing base.. Proposals are encouraged to prioritise shipyards, equipment manufacturers and suppliers located in the EU and EEA.

This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership on ‘Zero Emission Waterborne Transport’ (ZEWT). As such, projects resulting from this topic will be expected to report on results to the European Partnership ‘Zero Emission Waterborne Transport’ (ZEWT) in support of the monitoring of its KPIs.

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