University of São Paulo: Ore transport ship project wins award at COP26

Project of the first large ship to transport iron ore, using Vale’s rotating sails, received an award at a parallel event to the United Nations Conference on Climate Change 2021 – COP26. The project has the participation of USP’s Polytechnic School (Poli) and the vessel is one of the vessels analyzed by the Numerical Evidence Tank (TPN).

“This project represents a great advance,” Claudio Müller, responsible for the project and professor at USP’s Polytechnic School (Poli) , told Jornal da USP on Ar 1st Edition . The project differentiates projects in the Mechanical Engineering area, as it is one of the only ones to focus on the construction of the vessel. TPN became involved in the project thanks to Vale’s initiative to employ support teams for its projects under development and developed an agreement with Poli to improve this technology.

The sail system used in the construction of the ship corresponds to a technology that aims to increase energy performance and reduce the emission of greenhouse gases, such as CO2, using wind energy for this purpose. Although not a new technology, the spark plug system and instruments employed by the project were updated to ensure improved results.

Another benefit that the application of this technique brings is the reduction of operating costs, by reducing fuel consumption, for example, affecting the final price of products in the international market. According to Müller, one of the project’s challenges is the storage of the energy captured by the candles. As it is a method that uses the wind as an energy source, its operation depends on atmospheric currents, which vary depending on the region of the world or season of the year.