The company has been taking part in the Wind Challenger Project, an industry-university joint research project, since October 2009.

The project, jointly launched in October 2009 by the University of Tokyo and leading Japanese shipping companies, is promoting the development of rigid but retractable sails that will harness wind-power to enable cargo ships to reduce their fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. The sails envisioned for actual use are expected to measure 50mx20m, or 1,000m² in area.

Production of sails

GH Craft is designing and producing such sails for ships currently under development for the Wind Challenger Project. The company provided small-scale sails measuring 20m by 8m for on-land testing in Nagasaki, Japan beginning in January 2014.

The small-scale sails are made of a foamed core material sandwiched between glass fibre reinforced plastics. The test vessel will have five 15m-high retractable sails.

Since its foundation in 1970, GH Craft has been dedicated to developing advanced-composite large-scale structures, including sails for America's Cup and wind power generation. Going forward, the company will increasingly focus on innovative transportation solutions for the automotive, marine, rail and aerospace fields.

Teijin Group

Teijin is a technology-driven group offering advanced solutions in the areas of sustainable transportation, information and electronics, safety and protection, environment and energy, and healthcare.

Its main fields of operation are high-performance fibres such as aramid, carbon fibres and composites, healthcare, films, resin and plastic processing, polyester fibres, products converting and IT. The group has some 150 companies and around 16,000 employees spread out over 20 countries.

www.teijin.com