Brussels, 15 January 2023
Wallenius Wilhelmsen and other project partners have obtained a 9 million euro grant from Horizon Europe to support the construction of a RoRo (Roll-on Roll-off) sailing vessel.
The grant is divided among eleven partners that will be in charge of planning, building, and operating a wind-powered vessel over the next five years. The eleven partners together represent a 360-degree perspective on wind propulsion – including weather routing, vessel design, supply chain orchestration and crew training to test rig installation on an existing vessel.
Roger Strevens, VP Global Sustainability at Wallenius Wilhelmsen, stated: “The Horizon Europe EU funding shows the concept stood up to the scrutiny of the EU funding authorities and that they had the confidence to give it their support”.
Orcelle wind will be a wind-powered Pure Car Truck Carrier of 220 meters, that will have a capacity for over 7,000 cars and will be capable of carrying breakbulk and rolling equipment. The RoRo vessel will be a crucial part of Wallenius Wilhelmsen’s fleet decarbonization strategy and the ambition is for it to start sailing in late 2026 or early 2027.
The EU project represents an opportunity to combine the necessary investments in full-scale demonstration and data acquisition with advanced models and tools for wing propulsion vessels. An important part of the Horizon Europe funding project involves the installation of the wing sail test rig on an existing Wallenius Wilhelmsen vessel during mid-2024. Oceanbird and Wallenius Wilhelmsen will present the test rig installation in a webcast on January 26.