Alfa Laval Invests in Bunker Saving Air Lubrication Tech
by Ship & Bunker News Team
Thursday July 8, 2021
Alfa Laval has announced it has acquired a minatory stake in
Rotterdam-based marine air lubrication firm
Marine Performance Systems B.V..
Air lubrication systems work by creating a "carpet" of bubbles under the hull of a vessel while it is underway, reducing friction and saving energy in the process.
Such systems are not new, and indeed Alfa Laval notes marine air lubrication technology was first pursued and patented by its founder
Gustav de Laval in 1883.
More recently the technology has been commercially available for the marine industry for well over a decade, and while such systems have seen limited uptake during that time interest in the technology as recently enjoyed a spike in interest.