BlueNose, a London-based maritime innovation startup, has been awarded £350,000 ($459,000) through the UK Government’s Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition (CMDC6) to advance two pioneering concepts for aerodynamic vessel efficiency, in collaboration with lomarlabs.
Funded by Department for Transport’s UK SHORE (UK Shipping Office for Reducing Emissions) programme, 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 programme.
Using precise fuel consumption data from Lomar vessels, correlated with European satellite weather datasets, BlueNose will refine its shape-generation algorithm to optimise 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.
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The potential impact is considerable. In best case scenarios for large vessels, BlueNose’s technology is expected to deliver up to 5 per cent 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 £750,000 ($986,000) 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.
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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.”
Stylianos Papageorgiou, Managing Director of lomarlabs, stated: “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. 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 decarbonisation.”
For more information:
BlueNose – https://www.bluenosetech.com/
lomarlabs – https://lomarlabs.com/
