Norsepower secures €28 million from investors to bring sails back to shipping
Norsepower Oy Ltd., the leading global provider of mechanical sails for large ships, has successfully secured 28 million euros in its latest Series C fundraising round, according to the company's release.
French asset manager Mirova, an affiliate of Natixis Investment Management dedicated to sustainable investment, led the fundraising through its impact private equity Mirova Environment Acceleration Capital fund. Additional participants in the round included TheFinnish Climate Fund (Ilmastorahasto), OGCI Climate Investments, Nefco – The Nordic Green Bank, Tesi, and Power Fund III.
With a focus on impact, these organisations have joined forces to enable Norsepower to scale up production and expand the reach of its fuel-saving and emissions-reducing technology.
On a mission to decarbonise the shipping industry, Norsepower is committed to harnessing the power of the wind for large ships.
According to Norsepower, there are currently 30,000 vessels on the water today that can benefit from award-winning Norsepower Rotor Sails, which highlights the opportunity to reduce CO2 emissions across the global fleet by 80 megatons on an annual basis.
The Norsepower Rotor Sail is a modernised version of the Flettner rotor. The Norsepower Rotor Sail uses a minimal amount of the ship’s electric power to rotate cylinder-shaped rotors on the ship’s deck. Rotation together with wind generates powerful thrust – saving fuel and reducing emissions. The product has already been used by customers for over eight years and has 250,000 operating hours of verified performance data acquired from some of the world’s best-known shipping companies and charterers. This performance data includes installations in collaboration with customers including Bore, Sea-Cargo, Scandlines, Vale, CLdN, Nippon Marine, and Socatra who have selected Norsepower Rotor Sails™️ for improving fuel efficiency and reducing the emissions of their shipping operations.
The data – which shows fuel consumption savings 5-25%, or even more - has been measured and analysed independently by Lloyd’s Register, one shipping’s leading providers of classification, compliance and consultancy services to the marine and offshore industries, as well as ABB, NAPA, Chalmers University of Technology and VTT.
Provided as a combination of equity financing and loans, the breadth and scale of the investment round, combined with the increased participation of existing investors, signals a clear vote of confidence in Norsepower’s ability to deliver on its objectives. The new funding will help accelerate Norsepower’s scale of production and help to meet increasing global demand. It will also strengthen Norsepower’s product research & development, marketing, recruitment, and sizeable intellectual property portfolio.
