“It’s free, it’s powerful, it’s everywhere, it’s not taxable, and there’s no reliance on global supply chains to deliver it!”
Jon Tarjei Kråkenes answers a slightly incredulous question about the viability of wind to power enormous hunks of floating steel with complete poise. It’s possibly not the first time he’s been quizzed on this point.
Kråkenes is the recently appointed Head of Orcelle Accelerator at Norwegian-headquartered Wallenius Wilhelmsen, the world leader in car transportation and roll-on/roll of cargo. The company operates around 130 vessels, across 15 trade routes (to six continents), in addition to 120 global processing centers handling its mainly ‘rolling’ cargo, predominantly cars.
His team’s role is to help accelerate the company’s drive to decarbonization, assessing new energy sources, targeting green newbuilds, and working towards an initial goal of a 27.5 percent reduction in emissions by 2030 (compared to 2019).
But today he’s discussing one key initiative - a true “lighthouse project” creating waves right across the world of shipping: The Orcelle Wind.
Oceanbird takes flight
Orcelle Wind is a voyage in inspiration – with a glance to the past as it sets sail for the future.
Scheduled to arrive in 2027, the ship is a 7,000-car capacity, 220-meter long, 40-meter wide Ro-Ro vessel that will use wind as its main form of propulsion. Boasting six 40-meter high composite recyclable plastic (PET) and glass fiber laminate sails – more akin to airplane wings than ‘traditional’ sails – the 70-meter high ship will operate at speeds of 10-12 knots under sail, reducing emissions to air by as much as 90 percent. Underwater radiated noise, a major issue for sea life, will also be dramatically reduced, with less activity from generators, engines and propellers.
Orcelle Wind will be the first ‘Oceanbird’ vessel, a concept developed by Sweden’s Wallenius Marine, with an ingenious sail design that can be ‘folded’ to reduce surface area in strong winds, or when entering harbors and passing under bridges. The entire sail apparatus can be tilted to ensure adequate clearance for the ship.
In January 2023 the EU announced nine million euros funding for the project, from Horizon Europe. Kråkenes is adamant that this proves the project is far more than a headline-grabbing idea to market the company’s green ambitions: “This is rapidly moving from concept to reality,” he states, with complete conviction.
But, to ask an obvious question, what if there’s not enough wind?
His answer explains why the vessel’s emissions reduction is “up to 90 percent” rather than the promise of zero.
Positively pragmatic
“We have to have a back-up engine,” Kråkenes comments, adding that discussions are ongoing as to exactly how this should be powered, with assessments of methanol, LNG and other alternative fuels underway.
“That’s essential if there’s too much wind as well as too little – for example, if the vessel has to maneuver away from a storm – or for operations moving in and out of ports. In addition, our customers have clear supply chain demands and need reliable transit times to meet their own delivery schedules, so we can’t be 100 percent reliant on wind.”
So, the reality is not zero emissions, but the climate gains are still compelling for an industry under pressure to meet increasingly ambitious goals.
“If we compare apples with apples here, a conventionally fueled car carrier might transport its cargo across the Atlantic, for example, at an average speed of 16 knots. If we’re going to aim for 10-12 knots then we need customers to be onboard with slightly longer transit times. The 90 percent headline scenario is for a single sailing across the Atlantic (compared to the conventional carrier), but over longer periods – such a year of operations – we can still deliver the same cargo at 10-12 knots with emissions reductions in the range of 50-60 percent.”
This, he argues, is “a huge saving” and - when future fuel prices and potential carbon taxes/penalties are taken into consideration - a “super interesting” commercial proposition as well as an environmental boon.
It’s free, it’s powerful, it’s everywhere, it’s not taxable, and there’s noreliance on global supply chains to deliver it!
Testing times
The eye-catching Oceanbird wings are, arguably, the project’s main attraction – combining a flavor of shipping’s past with a strong focus on the future. Consisting of a main sail and flap just like an airplane wing, the towering structures will be constantly adjusted and optimized, thanks to an array of sensors and an automated control system.
“It’s not like the old days,” Kråkenes smiles. “Manually controlling six wings of this size together, to both exploit the wind and meet commercial objectives, is out of the question, so automation is a must.”
As is testing. This is the first concept of its kind, so rigorous testing is a prerequisite for development, and classification, with a full-scale sail rig due to be put through its paces on land later this year. This will be followed in 2024 by a retrofit of a single sail on an existing ship to gain operational insight of the system/s at sea.
“This in itself represents an interesting challenge,” Kråkenes comments, explaining how a newbuild design can be optimized for wind power in an entirely different way to a legacy build: “You can’t just stick it on the deck,” he smiles.
Instead, the rig will be attached to a frame that fits over the vessel, stabilizing the wing and carrying the considerable weight, whilst not impinging on cargo capacity.
Which raises the interesting question; would retrofitting sails on the existing fleet of over 100 ships be an Oceanbird possibility?
“We need to begin testing and get some real-world data and insights before answering that,” he says. “Once that’s underway we’ll have a better idea of how wind fits into our wider energy mix going forwards.”
Partnering for tomorrow
Although momentum is clearly building, the project is still in its early stages, making it difficult for Kråkenes to disclose too many details. A shipyard has yet to be finalized, he notes, while the actual routes the Orcelle Wind will ply are under discussion. Here he does stress the ship will be very flexible in its operational capabilities, but suggests the Atlantic would be a natural home for the company’s first pure wind car carrier.
As far as the reaction to the concept is concerned, it has been overwhelmingly positive.
“It helps that Wallenius Wilhelmsen has a model of working in partnership,” he states. “When you’re looking at projects of this nature – and overall objectives of decarbonizing the shipping industry – you have to work in partnership. No one can do this alone. So, from the early days we’ve been clear about what we want to do and our desire to engage with like-minded stakeholders and partners for this journey. That has been very successful so far.”
Partners include research and academic institutions from Belgium, Sweden and Greece (University of Gent, Kungliga Tekniska Högskolan, National Technical University of Athens and RISE Maritime), cluster organizations (Maritime Clean Tech), weather experts (StormGeo), and key suppliers (AlfaWall Oceanbird, DNV and Wallenius Marine). Crucially, customers also appear to be onboard for the shift to wind.
“Forward-thinking cargo owners are eager to minimize carbon footprints and Orcelle Wind can be a key link in more sustainable supply chains,” Kråkenes says. “We were fortunate to have Volvo sign with us from the outset as a partner and recently Mercedes-Benz has signed a letter of intent for participation. We’re confident more will follow.”
This is rapidly moving from concept to reality.
Fighting on many fronts
But don’t make the mistake of thinking Wallenius Wilhelmsen will be switching to full wind power across its entire world fleet anytime soon. Kråkenes opines that that’s probably a step too far and that ships like the Orcelle Wind are just one piece in the wider decarbonization puzzle.
“We’re considering a broad spectrum of alternatives and working with the fleet today to reach our goals tomorrow,” he states. This includes, he explains, optimising hulls and propellers, refining operations, for example adjusting speed, and looking at how to integrate new energy sources to reduce emissions.
The company has also recently become the first major global shipowner to adopt a fully AI-based approach to vessel optimisation, with a solution developed in partnership with Athens-based AI specialist DeepSea. This harvests real-time data – covering parameters such as fuel consumption, shaft power and speed – utilising an algorithm to deliver analysis to both onshore teams and instructions to vessel captains on optimising routes and operations.
This could reduce fuel consumption on existing ships by up to 10 percent.
“We’re considering all possibilities, fighting on many fronts, to reduce our environmental impact and help customers, and society, decarbonize supply chains,” Kråkenes concludes. “We want to lead the way and help accelerate the transition to a more sustainable future. With Orcelle Wind you could say we’re sailing in the right direction.”
Partnering for progress
Traditionally, we’ve seen shipping transition from one ‘silver bullet’ to another, moving from manpower and wind power to coal/steam, and from there to oil. In the absence of one catch-all power source to fuel today’s transition, we’re excited to see ambitious shipowners such as Wallenius Wilhelmsen embracing bold, sustainable solutions such as wind in their future energy mix.
As Jon Tarjei imparts, even on the most feasible trades and segments, wind alone might not be the answer for all large, deep-sea vessels, but it could be a very interesting piece of the energy puzzle for some. Innovations like the Oceanbird sails will no doubt help put wind firmly on the industry agenda in the years to come.
Here at ABB we’re working to deliver the flexibility owners and operators need when considering future fuels. With an emphasis on solutions that enable electric and hybrid propulsion – helping drastically reduce emissions – we see wind, and other renewables, as complementary, rather than competing, power sources.
Going back to Jon Tarjei, he talks about the importance of working in partnership to accelerate change, and we couldn’t agree more. That means collaborating with stakeholders throughout the industry value chain, but it also encompasses bringing different technologies and fuels together so they can work in unison towards the goal of greener shipping.
There may not be a silver bullet, but we can still hit our targets if we approach this challenge collectively. ABB is committed to playing its part.
