Canopée is a cargo ship powered by diesel engines and sails called "Oceanwings," which could cut fuel consumption in half when fully deployed. Look through the gallery to see more.
Tom Van Oossanen/Alizés
Canopée was designed to transport European space rocket Ariane 6. Built in facilities across Europe, the rocket parts have to be delivered to the European Space Agency's spaceport in French Guiana. The ship is shown arriving in Pariacabo harbor, French Guiana, in November 2023. It's just one example of modern ships using wind power to reduce their carbon emissions.
JM Guillon
French company Airseas has developed the Seawing, which it says could help ships cut their carbon emissions by an average of 20%. Pictured, the Seawing being tested on the cargo ship "Ville de Bordeaux."
Maxime Horlaville/polaRYSE/Airseas
Cruise company Hurtigruten Norway has unveiled a design for a zero-emission ship that relies on wind and solar power. The vessel, shown here in a rendering, will be electric and equipped with batteries that will be charged with renewable energy when in port. They will also be powered by retractable sails covered in solar panels.
VARD Design
In 2021, tire manufacturer Michelin released a design for giant inflatable sails, shown here in a rendering, that can be fitted to existing cargo ships, and inflate or deflate at the push of a button -- making it easy for the ship to enter a harbor or pass under a bridge.
Courtesy Michelin
UK-based BAR Technologies has designed 150-foot-tall rigid sails, to be retrofitted on cargo ships, shown here in a rendering. The company, which has a deal with US shipping giant Cargill to install its sails on a bulk cargo ship, says it will increase the vessel's fuel efficiency by more than 25%.
Courtesy BAR Technologies
Rigid sails, which look more like aircraft wings than traditional cloth sails, are also being installed on Oceanbird, a transatlantic car carrier (seen here in a rendering) that is due to set sail in 2024. It will rely mostly on wind power, cutting carbon emissions by 90%.
Courtesy Oceanbird
French company TOWT (TransOceanic Wind Transport) also depends almost entirely on wind power and will launch its first fleet of industrial-scale cargo ships in 2024. The vessels (pictured here in a rendering) will carry cocoa, coffee, champagne, sugar and other goods across four maritime routes. Each ship will be equipped with smart tracking systems so that high-end clients can monitor shipments and see how much carbon emissions they are saving.
Courtesy H&T
Rotors -- vertical cylinders that spin with the wind and create a forward motion -- are another type of wind propulsion technology being deployed on cargo ships. In 2018, Finnish company Norsepower installed two of its rotors on the 800-foot-long Timberwolf (formerly Maersk Pelican) tanker. During the first year of operation, fuel savings of 8% were recorded.
Courtesy Norsepower
British company Anemoi Marine installed four of its 16-meter-tall rotors on the m/v Afros bulk carrier. On one of its regular routes from Nantong to Vancouver and back, the estimated savings were 12.5% -- a reduction of 73 tons of fuel and 235 tons of CO2.
