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Wind gives you wings

The answer to decarbonising waterborne transport could be blowing in the wind – which is why the Orcelle project is advancing a new approach to ship propulsion.

With the goal of building the world’s first wind-powered car and truck carrier, Orcelle designed wind-harnessing vertical sails known as wings. The wings are being installed on two physical demonstrators, a one-wing retrofit of an existing cargo ship and a newbuild multi-wing vessel. The project is confident that its innovative wind propulsion systems will achieve an energy efficiency gain of more than 50 %, and even as much as 100 % in ideal sailing conditions.

Keywords

Orcelle, waterborne transport, CINEA, sustainability, EU-funded, research, shipping, freight, inland waterway, port, alternative fuel, wind, methanol