Wind Ship Propulsion

Engineering for the Wind

The rise of wind-assisted propulsion marks a turning point for maritime transport.
Faced with increasing regulatory pressure, fuel price volatility, and the climate emergency, wind is once again becoming a strategic driver of decarbonization.

But leveraging wind propulsion on an industrial scale also brings new challenges:
multi-physics integration, aerodynamic/structural/naval coupling, uncertainty-based design, and real-world performance.

Windglaz brings its expertise in wind and advanced computation to the service of wind propulsion at sea.

By combining our mastery of aerodynamic modeling, real-time simulation, and operational analysis, we support the key players of wind propulsion — naval architects, rigid and soft sail developers, innovative shipowners — at every stage of the development cycle.

Our expertise serving wind propulsion

🔍 Advanced aerodynamic studies

  • Apparent wind performance modeling

  • Assessment of sail/superstructure interactions

  • Mapping of aerodynamic loads and moments

⚙️ Multi-physics coupling and simulations

  • Coupled simulations of aerodynamics and ship dynamics

  • Assessment of propulsive gain in realistic sea conditions

  • Integration into real-time performance models

🛠️R&D and Innovation Support

  • Support during early-stage development (POC, prototypes)

  • Technologic benchmarking of wind-assisted propulsion systems

  • Design of test/validation campaigns in wind tunnels or at sea

  • Assistance with certification and regulatory validation

our tools

We use industry standard software and have developed in-house analysing and processing tools.