This cargo ship runs on wind [View all]

[Judi Lynn]

01.10.2021 06:00 AM

Cargo ships pump millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. From 2022, some will swap fossil fuels for wind power



Imagine that the cup of coffee in your hand was transported all the way from Colombia not on a giant, polluting container ship, but by a sturdy sailing vessel using only wind power.

That’s the vision of TransOceanic Wind Transport (TOWT), a small cargo company based in France which is now scaling up to transport tens of thousands of tonnes per year.

Founded in 2011, TOWT has already transported over 1,000 tonnes of cargo across the ocean using small sailing ships. Now, the company is in the process of building four larger sail ships, which will travel on four maritime routes between Europe and destinations including New York, Guadeloupe, Brazil and the Ivory Coast. The maiden voyage of the first ship is planned for late 2022.

“Wind is abundant, it's powerful, it's now predictable,” says Guillaume Le Grand, co-founder and chief executive of TOWT. “And sail is the best way to actually harness it and to move heavy haul over long distances.”

More:
https://www.wired.co.uk/article/wind-powered-cargo-ships