EU Funds World's First Wind-Powered RoRo Vessel

Wallenius Wilhelmsen and its partners have reportedly secured the Horizon Europe funding of about EUR 9 million to support the construction of a RoRo-sailing vessel.

In the next five years, aspects of building, planning, and operating a wind-powered ship, the Orcelle Wind, are expected to be executed.

The grant of EUR 9 million is divided between 11 partners. They present a holistic perspective on wind propulsion, including supply chain orchestration, vessel design, crew training, and weather routing to test rig installation on an existing vessel. The scope is to make the Orcelle Wind all geared up for commercial trading.

Ro Ro Vessel wind powered EU — Image for representation purposes only

Orcelle Wind is a wind-operated Pure Car Truck Carrier, a deep-sea Roll-On, Roll-Off vessel. It is expected to be 220 meters in length and boast a capacity for more than 7,000 vehicles but will be capable of transporting rolling equipment and breakbulk.

Orcelle Wind is a vital part of Wallenius Wilhelmsen’s fleet dedicated to the decarbonization strategy. The target is for it to commence sailing by late 2026 or the beginning of 2027.

Orcelle Wind is the first from the Oceanbird concept for wind-operated vessels. The idea reflects that it is possible to lower emissions from vessels theoretically by up to 90% if emissions-influencing elements are aligned.

A part of the Horizon Europe funding assignment is reportedly going to deploy a wing sail test rig on a vessel of Wallenius Wilhelmsen in mid-2024. Wallenius Wilhelmsen and Oceanbird will present the test rig installation via a webcast on 26 January.

References: Bunkerspot, Safety4Sea

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