What Advanced Wing Systems does

Advanced Wing Systems (AWS) is a privately held UK maritime-technology company that develops modular wind propulsion systems for commercial shipping. The company adapts morphing, double-surface wing sail technology — originally co-developed for the 36th America's Cup with the New York Yacht Club's American Magic AC75 team — into containerised hardware for retrofit onto cargo vessels. AWS serves two distinct customer groups: ship owners, who purchase low-cost deck frames that make their vessels "Wing Ready" without dry-docking, and charterers, who rent the wing-sail modules only for the duration of a charter and pay on a performance basis for verified propulsion energy delivered, measured in fuel-equivalent terms.

The core product line comprises Smart Modular Wings housed in standard 40ft ISO containers, custom deck frames, and the underlying aeroelastic morphing-wing design that enables efficient thrust generation at wind angles well forward of the beam — the prevailing operating conditions for most wind-assisted voyages. AWS has validated the system through a 7,500-nautical-mile sea trial and emphasises modular construction using industry-standard components to keep production costs low and bypass shipyard dependency at installation. Active partnerships with Atlentec Enterprise Solutions, Friendship Systems, Navim Group, Retrofit55, Sim Forward, and the European Union (grant funding) form an emerging delivery ecosystem.

AWS operates an enterprise B2B field-sales model targeting ship owners for retrofit hardware sales and charterers for usage-based rental; the innovative element is the pay-as-you-save / gain-share commercial structure that aligns owner capex economics with charterer fuel-savings economics, explicitly solving the shipping industry's "split incentive" problem. The company is founder-led by Greg Johnston (CEO, 40+ years experience across engineering and commercialisation) and Patrick Johnston (Chief Marine Operations Specialist, 40+ years maritime and shipbuilding experience), with venture-linked executive directors from Tradeworks VC and Swerve Energy Ventures. Revenue, funding history and customer logos are not publicly disclosed.

Name

Advanced Wing Systems

Legal name

Advanced Wing Systems LTD

Website

https://advancedwingsystems.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Advanced Wing Systems develops modular, containerised morphing wing sail technology adapted from the America's Cup for commercial shipping. It serves ship owners with low-cost deck-frame retrofits and charterers with usage-based wing-sail rentals, billed on propulsion energy delivered.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Wind-Assisted Marine Propulsion

akta.pro primary industry

Propulsion Drives, Gearboxes & Shaftlines (IMAJAHAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Advanced Wind Technology R&D (Floating Offshore, Airborne Wind, New Rotor/Blade Concepts) (EUAMAOAB)

Keywords

• Wind propulsion systems
• Maritime decarbonization
• Wing sail technology
• Vessel retrofit solutions
• Wind-assisted shipping

Headquarters

HQ city

Not specified

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Wing Sail Rental to Charterers: Charterers rent the wing sail modules housed in standard 40ft containers, paying only for verified propulsion energy delivered calculated as a fuel-equivalent. This performance-based model aligns commercial incentives between ship owners and charterers, solving the 'split incentive' problem.
2. Deck Frame Retrofit Installation: Ship owners retrofit vessels with low-cost, rapidly deployable deck frames to become 'Wing Ready'. Installation requires no major capital outlay from owners and no dry-docking, creating revenue from initial retrofit contracts.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Advanced Wing Systems designs and supplies modular morphing wing sail systems for maritime wind-assisted propulsion. The offering comprises Smart Modular Wings housed in standard 40ft ISO containers and Custom Deck Frames that retrofit vessels without dry-docking, sold or rented to ship owners and charterers on a performance-based, pay-for-propulsion-energy-delivered model.

Product overview

Advanced Wing Systems offers a modular wind propulsion system comprising Smart Modular Wings and Custom Deck Frames. The Smart Modular Wings are morphing wing sails housed in standard 40ft ISO containers, featuring double-surface design with aeroelastic properties for optimized aerodynamic performance. The Custom Deck Frames enable ship owners to retrofit vessels as 'Wing Ready' without dry-docking. The company operates a performance-based commercial model where charterers rent wing sails and pay only for propulsion energy delivered, calculated as a fuel-equivalent, aligning the commercial drivers of ship owners and charterers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Smart Modular Wing

Quantifiable outcome

• Optimised for up-wind sailing - the most prevalent wind condition for wind-assisted vessels
• +1 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Retrofit55minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner logo displayed on website. Retrofit55 appears to be related to maritime retrofit initiatives. Nature of collaboration not fully specified.
• European UnionminorOthersEU flag displayed among partner logos, suggesting European funding or grant support for the company's decarbonisation technology development.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• bound4blue: bound4blue produces eSails, automated suction sails for ships, with multiple commercial installations. It is a direct peer in the wind-assisted ship propulsion category, addressing the same decarbonisation drivers and customer segments as Advanced Wing Systems.
• Norsepower: Norsepower manufactures Flettner rotor sails for commercial shipping and has multiple commercial references (incl. on MSC, Cargill, and Vale vessels). It competes head-to-head with AWS for the same wind-assisted propulsion retrofit market, using rotating cylinders rather than wing sails to harness wind.
• Airseas: Airseas (formerly part of Airbus) builds Seawing, a towing kite system for ship propulsion. It addresses the same wind-assist decarbonisation opportunity as AWS through a fundamentally different mechanism (kite vs wing), serving similar shipping customers.
• Econowind: Econowind develops VentoFoil retractable wing sails installed on bulk carriers and tankers (e.g., on vessels for Maersk and Cargill). It competes directly with AWS in the wind-assisted retrofit space with a different but comparable wing-based architecture.
• BAR Technologies: BAR Technologies developed WindWings, rigid wing sails retrofitted onto commercial vessels (notably Cargill's Pyxis Ocean). It is the most advanced direct competitor in wind-assisted commercial ship propulsion and targets the same ship owner and charterer customer base as Advanced Wing Systems.

Emerging players

• Michelin (WISAMO): Michelin's WISAMO project develops inflatable wing-sail systems for maritime decarbonisation. As a corporate-backed entrant with deep materials and industrial engineering capabilities, it competes with AWS in the wing-sail retrofit category and benefits from Michelin's manufacturing scale.

Others

• Cargill: Cargill is one of the largest charterers of dry bulk shipping and a leading adopter of wind-assisted propulsion (notably with BAR Technologies' WindWings). It is a key prospective customer and ecosystem validator for Advanced Wing Systems rather than a competitor.
• Maersk: Maersk is the world's largest container shipping line and an active tester of wind-assist technologies including Econowind's VentoFoil. It represents both a major prospective customer and a strategic lighthouse account for AWS in the charterer segment.
• Tradeworks VC: Tradeworks VC is a maritime-focused venture investor whose partner Tom Whitby sits on the AWS leadership team. It represents the investor ecosystem in the maritime decarbonisation category relevant to AWS's capital raising pathway.
• TotalEnergies: TotalEnergies has publicly backed wind-assisted ship propulsion as part of its shipping decarbonisation strategy and invested in Airseas. It is an adjacent strategic energy major relevant to AWS as a potential charterer, fuel-supplier partner, and ecosystem participant.

Market position

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/advanced-wing-systems

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Advanced Wing Systems