Voith Turbo

Voith Turbo is the drive technology division of the Voith Group, the family-owned German engineering company headquartered in Heidenheim. In marine propulsion it is the sole manufacturer of the Voith Schneider Propeller (VSP), a cycloidal propeller developed about 90 years ago from the design of Austrian engineer Ernst Schneider.

The VSP combines propulsion and steering in one unit. A rotating disk carries vertical blades whose angle changes during each revolution, so thrust magnitude and direction can be set steplessly through 360 degrees. This makes it well suited to tugs, double-ended ferries, offshore vessels, minehunters and special ships that need precise manoeuvring. Variants include the remote-controlled rcVSP for tug operations and the electric eVSP, which integrates a gearless permanent-magnet motor. The eight-bladed eVSP is being installed on the research vessel Meteor IV, due in 2026, and is also fitted to the offshore service vessel Edda Wind.

Voith also builds rim-drive electric thrusters: the Voith Inline Thruster (VIT) for transverse thrust and the Voith Inline Propulsor (VIP), which can swing out and pivot 360 degrees. According to the input data it also offers the Voith Radial Propeller (VRP), an electric azimuthing rim-drive.