Wärtsilä and VTT partner on new propulsion technology research programme

Wärtsilä and VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland have partnered on a new €7.5m technology research programme aimed at developing propulsion products for operations in Arctic conditions.

The team will be the main contributor to the Arctic Thruster Ecosystem (ArTEco) project, supported by ten industrial and academic partners from Finland, and other countries.

The three-year programme, which is due to start this year, is primarily aimed at promoting new technology for propulsion solutions in arctic environments.

Wärtsilä Ship Power Propulsion vice-president Arto Lehtinen said: "The challenge to create increasingly reliable and competitive solutions is ongoing.

"Wärtsilä has a duty to its customers to ensure that its R&D activities are supported by the best tools, technologies and partners so as to develop the best solutions."

The programme will comprise the development of simulation and load determining methods for dynamic loading conditions, including researching the possibilities for dampening dynamic loads, use of environmentally acceptable lubricants in propulsion products and new sensor technology for components used in propulsion products.

According to Wärtsilä, new tools emerging from this project would be able to increase the competitiveness of solutions beyond that of existing products.

This will be supported through the creation of a technology demonstrator to validate the tools used for the project, which will take place at the Wärtsilä Propulsion Test Centre in Tuusula, Finland.

The specific focus will be on creating an extreme value thruster as a platform for demonstrating quantum leaps in thruster technologies.

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Image: Wärtsilä Propulsion Test Centre in Tuusula, Finland. Photo: courtesy of Wärtsilä.