The Korean shipbuilding company HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) is planning to integrate the installation of sail technology into its operations. The partner for this will be Bar Technologies from the UK.
Representatives of both companies signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at the Posidonia world trade fair in Athens to establish a strategic partnership. In future, HHI and Bar Technologies intend to work together to integrate the “WindWings” sail system into shipbuilding. This is a three-part, rigid wing sail design that is intended to increase a ship’s fuel efficiency and reduce emissions. HD Hyundai is the largest shipbuilding company in the world, and the Ulsan site is the world’s largest shipyard. According to the partners, the collaboration represents a “significant order of magnitude in the implementation of this technology”. The MoU will initially run for three years.
The agreement provides for windwings to be taken into account as early as the design phase of new buildings. To this end, the companies want to develop an interface between the sail control system and HHI’s integrated ship control system.
The cooperation is expected to drive the expansion of wind-assisted propulsion systems to a wider range of ship segments, including gas tankers. Shipowners would be looking for “practicable solutions” to reduce emissions. Having delivered more than 5,000 vessels to shipowners in over 60 countries since its inception, HHI has the scale and industry reach to effectively support this expansion across a variety of vessel types.
Ships will be designed differently in the future
“Through this commercial and technical collaboration with Bar Technologies, and the joint development of WindWings, we aim to support the wider adoption and technical advancement of Wind-Assisted Propulsion Systems as a key element of next-generation maritime transport,” said Hongryeul Ryu, Senior Executive Vice President and CTO of HHI. “This collaboration goes beyond technology integration; it represents a step toward fundamentally evolving the way ships are designed for the future. As a leading shipbuilder in the global maritime industry’s decarbonization journey, we are committed to playing our part in driving this transition forward.”
This agreement builds on existing Windwings installations – both retrofit and new build – and supports their wider integration into ship design. It also creates a more scalable and standardized path for the introduction of this technology.
“We already have WindWings® deployed across a significant number of newbuild vessels,” said John Cooper, CEO of Bar Technologies. “This agreement is about taking that further and into new segments. Working with HHI allows us to move beyond existing orders and extend wind propulsion into vessel design, including in areas such as gas carriers. As fuel costs and regulatory pressure continue to build, the question for shipowners is no longer if they use wind, but how quickly. Partnering with world class shipyards like HHI is how wind propulsion moves from early adoption into mainstream shipbuilding.”
In the upcoming HANSA 07/2026, Cooper talks about current developments in the market for wind-based propulsion systems, the hurdles the industry is facing and the opportunities it opens up for the maritime sector. “Wind is no longer a niche market,” says Cooper in the interview. In the next ten years, he expects the technology to be installed on a wider range of ship types – especially where the savings are particularly visible and it makes the most economic sense.
