Tom Van Oossanen/Alizés
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.
JM Guillon
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.
Maxime Horlaville/polaRYSE/Airseas
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."
VARD Design
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.
Courtesy Michelin
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 BAR Technologies
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 Oceanbird
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 H&T
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 Norsepower
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 Anemoi Marine Technologies
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.
CNN  — 

With its four sails towering 121 feet (37 meters) over its main deck, Canopée is a cargo ship with an unusual design, and a very unusual cargo.

The sails have a combined surface area of almost 16,000 square feet (1,486 square meters), and can give the 3,150-ton ship a substantial boost when the wind conditions are favorable.

Although Canopée’s primary power source is still a pair of diesel engines, it’s a glimpse into the future of shipping. The sails, called “Oceanwings” because they resemble aircraft wings when fully deployed, could cut fuel consumption in half. “With the best wind conditions we can save up to 50 or 60%, but in some instances that can go down to 10 or 15%,” says Nils Joyeux, managing director for Alizés, the French company that operates the ship. “At the moment we’re expecting to save around 30% on average, but we’ll need a few more years of operation to be able to confirm this projection.”

The ship was designed to transport Ariane 6, Europe’s latest and largest space rocket, which is expected to launch in mid-2024. Built in facilities across Europe, the rocket parts have to be delivered to the European Space Agency’s spaceport, located in French Guiana, an overseas territory of France in the northeast of South America.

Canopée completed its first transatlantic voyage — with the sails deployed and carrying rocket parts — in early November, kickstarting the final stage of development of the Ariane 6 program.

ESA
An artist's impression of Ariane 6 in flight.

Tailor-made

Shipping accounts for around 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions, and moves about 90% of the world’s goods. Earlier this year, the International Maritime Organization — the UN branch that regulates shipping —tightened its climate targets, and now aims to reach net zero by around 2050, with at least a 20% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, compared to 2008 levels.

Along with cleaner fuels, such as green ammonia, wind propulsion could be a crucial asset to reach these goals. “We are completely convinced that wind energy will become more and more competitive in the years to come,” says Joyeux. “It is not 100% of the solution to decarbonize the shipping industry, but it is truly a part that we cannot neglect anymore. When we started thinking about putting sails again on cargo ships, 10 years ago, it was quite a gamble. But today, as many shipping companies are planning to do the same, it’s a big part of the future.”

Built in Poland, Canopée first took to the waters at the end of 2022, before the sails were installed in the summer of 2023. Capable of moving 5,000 tons of cargo at a speed of 16.5 knots, it’s now returned to Europe, and will be making a dozen trips each year between the ports of Bremen, Rotterdam, Le Havre and Bordeaux, to then deliver its cargo to Pariacabo in French Guiana.

The soft “Oceanwings” made from sailcloth and mounted on Canopée enable the ship’s crew to adjust the height of the sails along the mast from the bridge of the ship, explains Christiaan De Beukelaer, author of “Trade Winds,” a book about the revival of sailing cargo ships, and a researcher at the University of Melbourne, who’s not connected with the project. That means the sails can be easily “reefed,” changing their surface area to accommodate varying wind speeds.

“The experimental precursor to the Oceanwings won the America’s Cup in 2010,” he adds, and after that victory at the prestigious sailing competition the racing yacht rig was adapted to serve ocean-going cargo ships.

“It’s a promising design, though it’s a bit early to comment on which designs are the most popular options with both shipping companies and ship crews,” says De Beukelaer.

JM Guillon
Canopée arriving at Pariacabo harbor in November 2023.

According to Joyeux, day by day operations on the ship are made more exciting by the presence of the wingsails. “I say this as a former sailor: I can see that the crew on Canopée is very excited to work with the sails, because it makes the routing of the ship more interesting. We must follow the weather, so each trip is unique and depends on the wind forecast,” he says, adding that, for the time being, the ship prioritizes meeting its scheduled arrival times rather than saving fuel, meaning that it will switch on its diesel engines if there isn’t enough wind.

Winds of change

According to Gavin Allwright, secretary general of the International Windship Association, a non-profit group promoting maritime wind propulsion solutions, there are currently 31 large (over 400 tons of gross tonnage) wind-assisted cargo ships operating around the world, with around 20 more expected to take to the water before the end of the year. “To put that in perspective, we took 12 years to reach the first 23 installations, at the end of 2022, then likely just over 12 months to deliver the next 23 ships,” he says, adding that the expectation is to reach 100 vessels by early 2025.

There are at least half a dozen different types of technologies represented among those 31 vessels, with rotor sails – large, vertical spinning cylinders that rotate to generate thrust – the most common. Another popular choice is hard sails inspired by aircraft wings, such as those mounted on Pyxis Ocean, a cargo ship chartered by US shipping firm Cargill. A more unusual choice is giant kites, which can soar up to 1,000 feet above the water, capturing stronger winds.

However, with a global fleet of around 60,000 large merchant ships, the impact of these vessels remains limited, according to De Beukelaer. Nevertheless, he adds, the uptake of wind propulsion yields a triple dividend. “It reduces the use of fossil fuels in the immediate term, it reduces the need for zero-emission fuels as they start replacing fossil fuels, which will help speed up the transition, and it allows shipping companies to rely on a free source of energy that is not subject to price fluctuations.”

He notes that it will take some time to properly assess Canopée’s sustainability credentials. “But the initial accomplishment is clear: Canopée exists and it’s certainly helping ship owners and operators see that wind propulsion is an option they can invest in today to lower emissions on a very short timeline, particularly because retrofits are possible on most types of vessels,” he says.

“Existing wind ships suggest that wind propulsion is a sound investment for both the bottom line of shipping companies and for the planet.”