Europe’s largest rocket travels on a wind-powered cargo ship

By Jacopo Prisco, CNN

(CNN) — With its four sails towering 121 feet (37 meters) over its main deck, Canopée is a cargo ship with an unusual design, and a very unusual cargo.

The sails have a combined surface area of almost 16,000 square feet (1,486 square meters), and can give the 3,150-ton ship a substantial boost when the wind conditions are favorable.

Although Canopée’s primary power source is still a pair of diesel engines, it’s a glimpse into the future of shipping. The sails, called “Oceanwings” because they resemble aircraft wings when fully deployed, could cut fuel consumption in half. “With the best wind conditions we can save up to 50 or 60%, but in some instances that can go down to 10 or 15%,” says Nils Joyeux, managing director for Alizés, the French company that operates the ship. “At the moment we’re expecting to save around 30% on average, but we’ll need a few more years of operation to be able to confirm this projection.”

The ship was designed to transport Ariane 6, Europe’s latest and largest space rocket, which is expected to launch in mid-2024. Built in facilities across Europe, the rocket parts have to be delivered to the European Space Agency’s spaceport, located in French Guiana, an overseas territory of France in the northeast of South America.

Canopée completed its first transatlantic voyage — with the sails deployed and carrying rocket parts — in early November, kickstarting the final stage of development of the Ariane 6 program.

Tailor-made

Shipping accounts for around 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions, and moves about 90% of the world’s goods. Earlier this year, the International Maritime Organization — the UN branch that regulates shipping —tightened its climate targets, and now aims to reach net zero by around 2050, with at least a 20% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, compared to 2008 levels.

Along with cleaner fuels, such as green ammonia, wind propulsion could be a crucial asset to reach these goals. “We are completely convinced that wind energy will become more and more competitive in the years to come,” says Joyeux. “It is not 100% of the solution to decarbonize the shipping industry, but it is truly a part that we cannot neglect anymore. When we started thinking about putting sails again on cargo ships, 10 years ago, it was quite a gamble. But today, as many shipping companies are planning to do the same, it’s a big part of the future.”

Built in Poland, Canopée first took to the waters at the end of 2022, before the sails were installed in the summer of 2023. Capable of moving 5,000 tons of cargo at a speed of 16.5 knots, it’s now returned to Europe, and will be making a dozen trips each year between the ports of Bremen, Rotterdam, Le Havre and Bordeaux, to then deliver its cargo to Pariacabo in French Guiana.

The soft “Oceanwings” made from sailcloth and mounted on Canopée enable the ship’s crew to adjust the height of the sails along the mast from the bridge of the ship, explains Christiaan De Beukelaer, author of “Trade Winds,” a book about the revival of sailing cargo ships, and a researcher at the University of Melbourne, who’s not connected with the project. That means the sails can be easily “reefed,” changing their surface area to accommodate varying wind speeds.

“The experimental precursor to the Oceanwings won the America’s Cup in 2010,” he adds, and after that victory at the prestigious sailing competition the racing yacht rig was adapted to serve ocean-going cargo ships.

“It’s a promising design, though it’s a bit early to comment on which designs are the most popular options with both shipping companies and ship crews,” says De Beukelaer.

According to Joyeux, day by day operations on the ship are made more exciting by the presence of the wingsails. “I say this as a former sailor: I can see that the crew on Canopée is very excited to work with the sails, because it makes the routing of the ship more interesting. We must follow the weather, so each trip is unique and depends on the wind forecast,” he says, adding that, for the time being, the ship prioritizes meeting its scheduled arrival times rather than saving fuel, meaning that it will switch on its diesel engines if there isn’t enough wind.

Winds of change

According to Gavin Allwright, secretary general of the International Windship Association, a non-profit group promoting maritime wind propulsion solutions, there are currently 31 large (over 400 tons of gross tonnage) wind-assisted cargo ships operating around the world, with around 20 more expected to take to the water before the end of the year. “To put that in perspective, we took 12 years to reach the first 23 installations, at the end of 2022, then likely just over 12 months to deliver the next 23 ships,” he says, adding that the expectation is to reach 100 vessels by early 2025.

There are at least half a dozen different types of technologies represented among those 31 vessels, with rotor sails – large, vertical spinning cylinders that rotate to generate thrust – the most common. Another popular choice is hard sails inspired by aircraft wings, such as those mounted on Pyxis Ocean, a cargo ship chartered by US shipping firm Cargill. A more unusual choice is giant kites, which can soar up to 1,000 feet above the water, capturing stronger winds.

However, with a global fleet of around 60,000 large merchant ships, the impact of these vessels remains limited, according to De Beukelaer. Nevertheless, he adds, the uptake of wind propulsion yields a triple dividend. “It reduces the use of fossil fuels in the immediate term, it reduces the need for zero-emission fuels as they start replacing fossil fuels, which will help speed up the transition, and it allows shipping companies to rely on a free source of energy that is not subject to price fluctuations.”

He notes that it will take some time to properly assess Canopée’s sustainability credentials. “But the initial accomplishment is clear: Canopée exists and it’s certainly helping ship owners and operators see that wind propulsion is an option they can invest in today to lower emissions on a very short timeline, particularly because retrofits are possible on most types of vessels,” he says.

“Existing wind ships suggest that wind propulsion is a sound investment for both the bottom line of shipping companies and for the planet.”

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