Elomatic Installs Tunnel Thruster Technology Aboard METEOR IV Research Vessel

Elomatic, an international consulting and engineering company, has successfully completed the installation of its Elogrid tunnel thruster technology on the 10,000 GT special purpose research vessel, the METEOR IV, built by the MEYER FASSMER spezialchiffbau consortium.

As part of a joint venture between FASSMER and MEYER Group, the 125-meter research vessel is being constructed for the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), to support their worldwide multifunctional and interdisciplinary projects, with a focus on climate and environmental research within the Atlantic. 

This contract marks another milestone in the adoption of Elomatic’s Elogrid tunnel thruster solution as it continues to be selected as part of newbuild projects. All previously installed applications were as part of retrofit projects on existing vessels to provide immediate benefits in fuel consumption reduction and thrust increase. For the METEOR IV project, the thrust increase was the main objective, which is why MEYER FASSMER Spezialschiffbau selected the Elogrid solution, to improve the vessel’s dynamic positioning capability to support their mission profile, while also reducing fuel consumption.  

Elogrid is an energy saving technology which is designed to maximize side thrust force to enhance maneuverability, while unlocking new levels of performance, efficiency, and sustainability. The Elogrid technology is predicted to reduce fuel consumption ranging from 1% to 4% per vessel in normal operating conditions. It achieves this by reducing flow entry into the bow thruster tunnels at cruising speeds. Elogrid blades are designed to improve side thrust when tunnel propellers are in use, resulting in a 5-8% increase in side thrust compared to operation without grids.