Viking Line starts collaboration with the winds of the Baltic Sea. The M/S Viking Grace is the first passenger ship in the world equipped with a rotor sail for the utilisation of wind power. Developed by the Finnish company Norsepower Oy Ltd, the Rotor Sail Solution will cut fuel consumption and reduce emissions by up to 900 tonnes annually.

Viking Line will operate the Viking Grace on windassisted voyages between Turku (Finland) and Stockholm (Sweden) from April 12th 2018.

On Thursday, Elering and the Finnish state-owned Baltic Connector OY signed an agreement with Allseas to install the biggest section of the offshore pipeline for the Balticconnector Estonian-Finnish gas connection.

Balticconnector’s offshore construction project will start this summer with seabed preparations to install the pipeline. According to the schedule, the actual submarine pipeline will be laid in summer 2019. The work will be finished by autumn of next year, after which preparations for the utilisation of the pipeline will begin.

European Space Agency Business Incubation Centre Estonia (ESA BIC Estonia) had three new start-ups join the incubation program focusing on ground-based application of space technologies.

ESA BIC Estonia, opened end of last year, held a successful second round with six applicants. In March 22nd, an official evaluation board was held with representatives form ESA and ESA BIC Estonia’s consortia partners, choosing three start-ups to join ESA BIC Estonia.

The positive outlook for world trade has continued to improve. The DHL Global Trade Barometer increased to 66 points in March from 64 points in January when the newly created index was initially published. With an index value clearly above 50, the DHL Global Trade Barometer continues to signal solid positive growth for global trade within the next three months. Furthermore, the increase indicates that growth is gaining momentum.

Finnish smartphone producer Bittium (based in Oulu) presented Bittium Tough Mobile, secure LTE smartphone, and innovative Bittium Tough Mobile HybridX extension at the British APCO exhibition for authorities in Coventry, United Kingdom, on March 20 – 21. The new Bittium Tough Mobile HybridX extension gives Bittium Tough Mobile a new user interface and functionalities that are very useful in demanding Public Safety use. In addition, Bittium showcased Bittium SafeMove Analytics, which is a monitoring and reporting tool for collecting information on the performance of devices used on the field and thus enhance the efficiency of the authorities.

Europe can close its innovation gap with other parts of the world by establishing better conditions for innovation. This means enacting flexible legislation and codes of conduct that give start-ups more freedom to create, says the EPP Group’s Michał Boni. The EU can also encourage innovation by supporting 5G Internet technology, financing for start-ups, and by supporting more education.

Skeleton Technologies, the European leader in the production of ultracapacitors, and Transiidikeskus, one of the leading container terminals in the Baltic Region with an annual capacity of 600 000 TEU, unveil a Rubber Tyre Gantry (RTG) crane equipped with a graphene ultracapacitors powered kinetic energy recovery system (KERS) reducing the fuel consumption and CO2 emissions by 34%.

The Muuga Crane KERS solution in Estonia recuperates energy while the crane is lowering the cargo and re-uses the same energy for lifting.

For years, cars have no longer just been a machine to transport us from one place to another; they have become an extension of our mobile phones. Getting real-time traffic information, inquiring about the weather forecast or opening the garage door from behind the wheel is now all possible thanks to connected cars. With the Mobile World Congress just around the corner, SEAT Digital Officer Fabian Simmer explains how these technologies help us in our everyday lives and gives us some insights into future trends:

The KOF Business Situation Indicator rose further in January, continuing on its upward trajectory after a brief pause last autumn. The companies that took part in the KOF survey are confident regarding business development over the next six months. All in all, Swiss companies are getting off to a strong start in 2018.