Portrait

When the political winds change, Harry Bingham stays the course

Since completing his BSc in 1984, marine engineer Harry Bingham has worked to promote the use of sails on large ships. At that time, a shift in the political landscape in the United States was the cause of headwinds. Now history is repeating itself.

Throughout his career, Professor Harry Bingham has been driven by the goal of a green transition in the maritime sector—even as political support has fluctuated. Photo: Thomas Steen Sørensen

Tuesday 08 September 2026

Sari Vegendal

Unrest in the Middle East tends to send ripples through the region—with consequences for the rest of the world. This time is no exception.

As a result of the war in Iran, large oil tankers have for a long period refrained from sailing through the troubled hub of all oil transportation: The Strait of Hormuz. The uncertainty and the standstill in oil shipments have caused oil prices to skyrocket.

For Harry Bingham, a marine engineer and professor at DTU Construct, this brings back memories of the beginning of his academic career at Cornell University in the United States in the 1980s.

“When I was taking my BSc, we had just come through the oil crisis, and sky-high oil prices meant a strong political will to transition to green energy in the shipping industry. There was a huge focus on installing sails on large ships and on wave energy,” says Harry Bingham.

When Jimmy Carter was president of the United States, he dreamed of contributing to a sustainable transition in the shipping industry that would change the world forever.

“The president was all in on green energy. The atmosphere was intense and incredibly focused,” he recalls.

Harry Bingham wrote his BSc thesis on installing sails on large ships—and was convinced that he wanted to go straight into the industry and put theory into practice.

Driving force

Today, 40 years later, that dream remains intact. But still unfulfilled.

A postdoc position in Denmark brought Harry Bingham to DTU, and for the past 26 years, through his research and teaching on energy efficiency in ships, wave energy, and the use of wind power during the launch of commercial vessels, he has worked to ensure that the ambitions for a green transition in shipping can one day become a reality.

“Wind and wave energy have been the driving force throughout my career. It has always been at my core, even though I’ve sometimes had to think about making a living and instead find my passion in the world of mathematics. But I’ve always come back, and I’ve always stuck with it,” he says.

Along the way, several significant shifts in the maritime sector have required rapid adaptation and a gradual rediscovery. He himself remembers most vividly when the last major Danish shipyards began closing down and moving production to Asia in the early 2000s.

“This had a major impact on many of our programmes and on the teaching of shipbuilding, because the nature of the demand for traditional skills among marine engineers suddenly changed. It required us, as educators, to stay true to our core competences—but at the same time to see new opportunities,” he says.

The maritime programmes at DTU were gradually adapted to meet societal needs, and today the core work of marine engineers focuses more on consulting and the development of energy-efficient maritime equipment—such as engines, propellers, and high-tech control systems—than on the actual construction of large ships.

At DTU, wave channels like this one make it possible to send waves in one direction and measure their forces. Photo: Thomas Steen Sørensen

Harry Bingham finds it meaningful to share his knowledge with the students. He has noticed that their interest in topics such as ship sails is growing. Photo: Thomas Steen Sørensen

History repeating itself

The many changes throughout Harry Bingham’s career give a sense of just how close an engineer’s dream of a sustainable transition can feel to coming true—and at the same time, how incredibly far away it can turn out to be.

Back in the 1980s in the United States, a new US president was instrumental in changing the overall picture.

“When Ronald Reagan came into the White House, all talk of the green transition came to a halt,” says Harry Bingham, adding:

“Oil prices began to fall, as did political ambitions, and for the next 20-25 years, the transition was hardly discussed at all.”

With Donald Trump’s inauguration in 2025 and the rollback of various climate measures, he feels that history is repeating itself.

“It’s funny that this is happening again, just as global warming has put pressure on world leaders and the will for a green transition has returned,” he says, weighing his words.

“Still, I think the changed global situation means that we can’t avoid the green transition this time.”

Green Transition—version 2.0

Donald Trump’s presidency has, among other things, led to a pause in the adoption of the global framework agreement—the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Net-Zero Framework—among UN member states.

The agreement actually constituted a joint declaration on taxes on carbon emissions from shipping starting in 2027 and the goal of a complete phase-out of emissions by 2050.

At the same time, the war in Ukraine and unrest in the Middle East have contributed to Europe’s realization that it cannot rely on fossil fuels from hostile nations. Ensuring security of supply in the renewable energy sector has become a top political priority.

“There is so much pressure to make the transition—and technologically speaking, there has been tremendous progress since the 1980s,” says Harry Bingham, referring to one of the world’s largest tanker operators, Maersk, which in 2018 became the first to retrofit a tanker, Maersk Pelican, with rotor sails—two 30-metre-tall rotor sails. The test results showed fuel savings of 8.2 per cent.

Harry Bingham also mentions an increase in research projects focusing on offshore wind, wave energy, and sails on commercial ships. And he’s noticed a great deal of interest among his students, who, like him, get a sparkle in their eyes when they talk about the possibilities of sail technology. It gives him hope for the future.

“As far as I’m concerned, we’re in the midst of the green transition—version 2.0 of my life,” he says, and continues:

“I don’t think one man can stop the pressure for change this time. Now I have the opportunity to pass on my legacy and all my knowledge to the next generation, who will carry on the work. There is a great deal of satisfaction in that.”

Maritime technology

How sails work on large ships

Rotor sails are one of the most widely used technologies for harnessing wind energy on large commercial ships.

The rotor sail consists of a large, vertical cylinder on the ship that rotates when the wind blows.

When the wind blows against the rotating cylinder, the so-called Magnus effect occurs, in which the wind moves faster on one side of the cylinder (in the direction of rotation) and slower on the other (against the direction of rotation). This creates a pressure difference that generates buoyancy, which propels the ship forward.

Contact

Harry Bradford Bingham Professor Department of Civil and Mechanical Engineering Phone: +45 45251972 hbbi@dtu.dk