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Wallenius Wilhelmsen and partners secure EUR 9 million funding to build wind-powered RoRo vessel

All aspects of planning, building, and operating the world’s first wind-powered RoRo vessel “Orcelle Wind” will be done over the next five years, says Wallenius Wilhelmsen.

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Wallenius Wilhelmsen and project partners have secured a Horizon Europe funding totalling EUR 9 million (USD 9.7 million) to support building the world’s first wind-powered RoRo sailing vessel, according to Wallenius Wilhelmsen on Sunday (15 January).

Over the next five years, all aspects of planning, building, and operating wind-powered vessel Orcelle Wind will be done.

“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,” says Roger Strevens, VP Global Sustainability at Wallenius Wilhelmsen.

The grant 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 Funding project is based on a collaborative approach – we need strong partners to lead the way to zero emissions as soon as possible. We are proud to have a group of the best technical, operational, and academic partners, as well as one of our key customers, for the project. All have committed to working together to help make Orcelle Wind a reality,” says Strevens.

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 metres 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,” says 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.

 

Photo credit: Wallenius Wilhelmsen
Published: 17 January, 2023

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Biofuel

NYK conducts first Japan bio bunker fuel trial on coal carrier for domestic power utility firm

Firm said it has started a biofuel test run on Noshiro Maru, operated by Tohoku Electric Power, marking the first time in Japan that a coal carrier has been used to test biofuel for a domestic power utility firm.

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NYK conducts first Japan bio bunker fuel trial on coal carrier for domestic power utility firm

Japanese shipping firm NYK on Monday (10 February) said it has started a biofuel test run on its coal carrier Noshiro Maru, which is operated by Tohoku Electric Power on 9 February.

This is the first time in Japan that a coal carrier has been used to test biofuel for a domestic power utility company. Mitsubishi Corporation Energy in the Keihin area facilitated the supply of biofuel for the vessel.

Biofuels are made from organic resources (biomass) of biological origin, such as agricultural residues and waste cooking oil, and are considered to produce virtually zero carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions when combusted.

“Since they can be used in heavy-oil-powered ship engines, which are common on large merchant ships, biofuels are considered a key means of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the transition period from heavy oil to zero-emission fuels,” NYK said. 

“Using biofuel to reduce GHG emissions during sea navigation also contributes to reducing Scope 3 GHG emissions generated by transporting customers’ cargo.”

NYK added it will continue to focus on introducing biofuels and other next-generation fuels, and will contribute to reducing GHG emissions in our customers' supply chains while promoting decarbonisation in marine transport.

 

Photo credit: NYK
Published: 11 February, 2025

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Biofuel

IBIA welcomes IMO move to draft guidance change on carriage of bio bunker fuels

IBIA welcomed agreement by IMO’s Sub Committee on PPR 12 to draft Interim Guidance on the carriage of blends of biofuels and MARPOL Annex I cargoes by conventional bunker ships.

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The International Bunker Industry Association (IBIA) on Monday (10 February) said it submitted a document to IMO on the carriage of biofuels for supply to a ship for use as fuel oil on board that ship in November 2023.

This highlighted that as conventional bunker vessels were limited in carrying fuel oil of no more than 25% biofuel it presented a potential impediment to the global adoption of biofuels as fuel oil for ships and so to the ambition for the decarbonization of international shipping in the short term, as set out in the 2023 IMO GHG Strategy.

“IBIA therefore welcomes the agreement by IMO’s Sub Committee on Pollution Prevention and Response (PPR 12) to draft Interim Guidance on the carriage of blends of biofuels and MARPOL Annex I cargoes by conventional bunker ships,” it said on its website. 

The guidance allows conventional bunker ships certified for carriage of oil fuels under MARPOL Annex I to transport blends of not more than 30% by volume of biofuel, as long as all residues or tank washings are discharged ashore, unless the oil discharge monitoring equipment (ODME) is approved for the biofuel blend(s) being shipped. 

“The Interim Guidance is expected to be approved by IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC 83) in April,” IBIA added. 

“IBIA’s membership represents stakeholders from across the global marine fuel value chain, and being able to draw on this technically strong and credible resource will, in its role of having consultative status to the IMO, mean that IBIA will continue to bring important matters to the attention of the wider IMO membership for due consideration.”

 

Photo credit: International Bunker Industry Association
Published: 11 February, 2025

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Alternative Fuels

Ammonia, methanol bunkering infrastructures among 39 projects to receive EU funding

Both projects aim to deploy a ship-to-ship bunkering system at the ports of Huelva and Algeciras respectively and include a 7500 m3 bunkering vessel each.

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Two projects involving ammonia and methanol bunkering infrastructures in the ports of Huelva and Algeciras in Spain were among 39 projects to receive funding under the first cut-off deadline of 2024-2025 Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Facility (AFIF) of the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), according to the European Commission recently. 

The first ammonia bunkering infrastructure will be in Algecirasa as part of the Andalusian Green Hydrogen Valley. The project aims to deploy a ship-to-ship ammonia bunkering system in the port of Algeciras. 

It includes a 7500 m3 ammonia bunkering vessel, an on-shore ship loading system and the piping infrastructure for the transport of ammonia from the production site to the loading dock.  

Meanwhile, the first methanol bunkering infrastructure will be in Huelva, also as part of the Andalusian Green Hydrogen Valley. The project aims to deploy a ship-to-ship methanol bunkering system in the port of Algeciras. 

It includes a 7500 m3 methanol bunkering vessel, an on shore ship loading system and the piping infrastructure for the transport of methanol from the production site to the loading dock.

The coordinator for both bunkering projects is Spanish bunker and biofuel supplier CEPSA. 

The European Commission said the EU is allocating nearly EUR 422 million to the 39 projects that will deploy alternative fuels supply infrastructure along the trans-European transport network (TEN-T), contributing to decarbonisation. 

With this selection, the AFIF will support other projects including approximately 2,500 electric recharging points for light-duty vehicles and 2,400 for heavy-duty vehicles along the European TEN-T road network, 35 hydrogen refuelling stations for cars, trucks and buses, the electrification of ground handling services in eight airports and the greening of nine ports.

Following EU Member States’ approval of the selected projects on 4 February, the European Commission will adopt the award decision in the coming months, after which the results will become definitive. 

The European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA) has started the preparation of the grant agreements with the beneficiaries of successful projects.

Note: The full list of successful projects can be viewed here.

 

Photo credit: Guillaume Périgois on Unsplash
Published: 11 February, 2025

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