Tech Pioneers

Saving Oil Is a Breeze

SkySails

Hamburg, Germany
Sector: Clean Tech
Stephan Wrage, Co-Founder and CEO
Age: 34

SkySail's patent-pending towing-kite system aims to use wind power to reduce a ship's fuel costs and emissions by 10% to 35% per year. Measuring anywhere from 150 to 1,000 square meters in size, the kites are connected via a rope to the bow of container ships or oil tankers and grab ocean breezes to reduce the work of onboard diesel engines, not replace them. Kites work better than sails because they are higher up, allowing them to harness stronger and more constant winds. If the system catches on with the 50,000 ships in the world's trade fleet, the maritime transportation sector, which currently consumes around 280 million tons of oil per year, could guzzle far less.