Tuomas Riski, CEO of Norsepower, has been announced as the winner of Nor-Shipping’s coveted Young Entrepreneur Award 2017. The 38 year-old Finn was chosen from a final shortlist that included Joel Spark, Co-Founder of Spire, Xeneta CEO Patrik Berglund, and Christine Spiten, Co-Founder of Blueye Robotics.
Nor-Shipping’s Young Entrepreneur Award, a joint initiative with YoungShip, focuses on innovators, all of whom must be under 40, working to address critical industry issues. As such, Riski fits the bill perfectly, leading a company that has developed a spinning wind-powered cylinder (a Flettner rotor) to harness wind energy and propel ships. The solution, suitable for both newbuilds and retrofitting, has the potential to deliver fuel and emissions savings of up to 20% in favourable wind conditions.
“Tuomas and Norsepower encapsulate the very essence of this award,” commented Nor-Shipping Director Birgit Liodden.
“Their technology is a potential game-changer for an industry facing increasing cost and environmental constraints. It ranks as the first proven commercially available auxiliary propulsion system that can harness natural wind power in this way. As such it has the potential to not only drive forward single vessels, but also our entire industry’s sustainability credentials.
“Tuomas is, without doubt, a very worthy winner. We expect to hear a lot more about Norsepower in the years to come.”
Nor-Shipping 2017 takes place in Oslo and Lillestrøm, Norway, from 30 May to 2 June 2017
By Jake Frith
