OCEANWINGS®
WINGS FOR CARGO SHIPS
Marc Van Peteghem
(AYRO)
AYRO is developing OCEANWINGS®, a system of vertical rigid wings that use the wind to propel commercial ships. This solution is emblematic of the innovations underway to significantly reduce the use of fossil fuels in maritime transport.
HEADING FOR DECARBONIZATION THROUGH HYBRIDIZATION
OCEANWING® has a long history, dating back to the America’s Cup. In 2010, the American multihull, equipped with a giant rigid mainsail, won the prestigious trophy. One of its naval architects, Marc Van Peteghem, came up with the idea that this particularly efficient wind power system should be transposed to commercial vessels to assist their engines by hybridization.
He developed the OceanWings® solution, which is now supported by the company AYRO, which offers studies to adapt it to the very specific constraints of maritime trade, by installing it on existing ships, but even better on modern ships. The first of these, Canopée, touched water in December 2022. Intended to transport Ariane rocket components across the Atlantic, this ro-ro vessel with futuristic lines will soon be equipped with four rigid and automated 360m2 wings. This wing system will enable it to reduce its fuel consumption by up to 42% in good weather conditions, the equivalent of 150 metric tons of fuel over one crossing.
“The decarbonization of maritime transport will involve the use of wind, a clean, free energy that already has a long 5,000-year history with sailors and ships.”
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