World's first wind-powered RoRo vessel secures EUR 9M in EU funding
Wallenius Wilhelmsen and project partners have secured a Horizon Europe funding totalling EUR 9m to support building a RoRo sailing vessel. Over the next five years, all aspects of planning, building, and operating a wind-powered vessel, the Orcelle Wind, will be done, according to the company's release.
The grant of EUR 9m is divided between eleven partners - all bringing something unique to the table. Together, they represent a 360-degree perspective on wind propulsion – including weather routing, vessel design, supply chain orchestration and crew training to test rig installation on an existing vessel. The project’s scope is to make the Orcelle Wind ready for commercial trading.
The EU project is a solid opportunity to combine the investments needed for full-scale demonstration and data capture with advanced models and tools for wing propulsion vessels. Beyond the demonstrator’s vessel, the partners will use the models and tools to develop advanced conceptual designs and operational plans for multiple vessel types to apply the wing solution.
Orcelle Wind is a wind-powered Pure Car Truck Carrier, a type of deepsea Roll On, Roll Off vessel. It will be 220 meters and have a capacity for over 7,000 cars, but will also be capable of carrying breakbulk and rolling equipment. Orcelle Wind is a crucial part of Wallenius Wilhelmsen’s fleet decarbonization strategy and the ambition is for it to commence sailing in late 2026 or early 2027.
Orcelle Wind is the first vessel from the Oceanbird concept (see link below) for primarily wind-powered vessels. The concept shows that it is theoretically possible to reduce emissions from vessels by up to 90 percent if all emissions-influencing factors are aligned.
An important part of the Horizon Europe funding project is installing the wing sail test rig on an existing Wallenius Wilhelmsen vessel during mid-2024. Oceanbird and Wallenius Wilhelmsen will present the test rig installation in a webcast on January 26.
