Designing a new sailing era
People have been sailing for thousands of years. The introduction of diesel engines meant faster crossings – at the expense of the environment. The Oceanbird concept could reduce emissions by 90% compared conventional vessels, which shows that the maritime industry can bring about major change and that zero-emission shipping is possible.
Wallenius Marine is designing the first vessels from the Oceanbird concept. The wing sails are being developed by AlfaWall Oceanbird – a joint venture between Wallenius and Alfa Laval.
Support from government
Wallenius Marine developed the Oceanbird concept together with KTH Royal Institute of Technology and SSPA. The development project was supported by the Swedish Transport Administration, which allocated SEK 32 million during 2019-2022. It was an efficient cluster collaboration that draw together experts from the public and private sectors and academia. Working together, we enable sustainable growth.
- Wallenius Marine was the project coordinator, owned the concept and was also contributing design and logistics expertise.
- KTH addressed the challenges within areas such as aerodynamics, sailing mechanics and performance analysis.
- SSPA contributed with expertise within the development and validation of new testing methods, aerodynamic and hydrodynamic simulation methods and risk simulation.
Next step: Realisation
We are now in the realisation phase. In June 2021, Alfa Laval and Wallenius announced that we will enter into a new 50/50 joint venture called AlfaWall Oceanbird to develop and provide technology for fully wind-powered vessel propulsion. The new company was founded on 1 December, 2022.
Alfa Laval and Wallenius are familiar partners in developing ground-breaking technology. The companies have collaborated before on PureBallast, which is one of today’s leading solutions for chemical-free ballast water treatment.
“Wind is an opportunity we must seize now. There’s simply no time to waste in phasing out fossil fuelss” says Niclas Dahl, Managing Director Oceanbird.
