AIRCOAT

Project Goals:

To develop a passive air lubrication technology that utilizes the biomimetic Salvinia effect and significantly reduces overall frictional drag. In addition to significantly reducing fuel consumption and thus exhaust emissions, the novel foil also prevents biofouling adhesion and mitigates ship noise emissions. 

Objectives: 

Development of an AIRCOAT prototype, validated by experimental and numerical methods, and demonstrated in service. The refit technology would be immediately applicable to an entire fleet. The surface structure of AIRCOAT will be optimized by experimental and numerical methods. The results will be analyzed in order to transfer them to larger dimensions and apply them to real ships.

Role of the CML in AIRCOAT:

The CML is leading the AIRCOAT project.

In addition to developing a method to quantify and monitor the air layer, Fraunhofer CML will also perform the evaluation of the economic and environmental impact of AIRCOAT.

Project Consortium:

Fraunhofer Center for Maritime Logistics and Services CML, Germany (project lead); Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany ; Hamburg Ship Model Basin, Germany; Bremen University of Applied Sciences, Biometrics-Innocation-Centre, Germany; Avery Dennison Materials Belgium, Belgium; REVOLVE; Finnish Meterological Institute, Finland; Aquabiotech Group, Malta; PPG, Netherlands; Danaos Shipping, Cyprus.

AIRCOAT is funded by the European Union under the Horizon 2020 research program with €5.3 million over the period May 2018 - May 2021.