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.
The grant of EUR 9m is divided between eleven partners. 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 Horizon Europe EU funding shows the concept stood up to the scrutiny of the EU funding authorities and that they had the confidence to give it their support
said Roger Strevens, VP Global Sustainability at Wallenius Wilhelmsen.
A 220-meter-long wind powered vessel
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 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.
The Oceanbird concept was developed through a partnership approach. We have seen the strength of gathering people from different sectors and companies to cover all perspectives. By working together, we will bring the Orcelle Wind project to life – and by that – take a huge step towards truly sustainable shipping
explained Niclas Dahl, Managing Director at Oceanbird.
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.
