If we required everything to be done in leaps and bounds, we'd never get anything done. Better to re-frame this as "looks to be an improvement on Voith Schneider Propellers". We can recognize the history while recognizing improvements. Progress is made by continual small steps, not giant leaps. If you see giant leaps, it is generally because you just aren't familiar with the topic enough (they do happen, but they are quite rare). Over trivializing improvements and dismissing them because they are abstractly similar only stops the world from moving forward. To reference a clique (something everyone can recite but something nobody knows): "the devil is in the details."
If you read the article, they say that the propeller decrease energy consumption by 22% from conventional shaftline (the video says "up to 25%" though...), that seems like a pretty big win to me. And seems like something that you shouldn't so quickly dismiss.
This kind of issue seems prominent around here and among engineers. Just remember how your work's merit relies so much on the details. What makes you think that this is any different for others? Why conclude that just because you understand something at an abstract level that you understand it at a nuanced level?
Edit: don't use this comment as a reason to downvote them. If you actually like this message upvote them to make this more visible because you're probably frustrated with this issue too.