ABB’s Azipod technology was developed 30 years ago for a groundbreaking Finnish ice breaker, but the electric-drive propulsion systems are now finding wider uses as shipping seeks to decarbonise.
Capable of cutting fuel consumption by 20%, the Azipod’s real breakthrough came about 25 years ago when two units were ordered for and fitted to the 70,367-gt Carnival Elation (built 1998), according to ABB Marine & Ports president Juha Koskela.
