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 sailing cargo vessel Oceanbird will leave 90% less emissions than today’s vessels, which shows that the maritime industry can bring about major change and that zero-emission shipping is possible. The design will be ready for orders in 2021 and we are aiming for a launch in 2024.
An efficient Swedish cluster
The main partners in the project is Wallenius Marine, KTH Royal Institute of Technology and SSPA. It is supported by the Swedish Transport Administration, which has allocated SEK 32 million for the three-year development project during 2019-2022. It is an efficient cluster collaboration that draws together experts from the public and private sectors and academia. We are not just developing the transportation technology of the future, but also the next generation of engineers. Working together, we enable sustainable growth. You can follow the whole process in our blog.
- Wallenius Marine is the project coordinator, owns the concept and is also contributing design and logistics expertise.
- KTH addresses the challenges within areas such as aerodynamics, sailing mechanics and performance analysis.
- SSPA is contributing with expertise within the development and validation of new testing methods, aerodynamic and hydrodynamic simulation methods and risk simulation.
Introducing Oceanbird
The research project is called wPCC (wind Powered Car Carrier), and in September 2020 the collaboration presented the concept Oceanbird. Learn more about this revolutionary ship design in Oceanbirdwallenius.com