Decarbonization of the shipping industry has been our absolute focus since 2008. Back in 2011, we pioneered the today’s use of wind for the main propulsion of cargo vessels through the company PROPELWIND s.a.s.

Wind is readily available and does not raise any opposition – more to the opposite. Using green hydrogen as back-up fuel, wind allows hydrogen to go deep sea, providing an absolute zero-emission solution.

However, its use for main propulsion is limited, mainly:

• size of the vessel
• only suited for low-density cargo’s
• no Asia – Europe ocean trade route due to lack of wind

Therefore the impact of wind propulsion on the global emissions from shipping is far too low compared to the immense effort deployed by all the stakeholders from the wind propulsion sector.

When ready, the new type and size of nuclear reactors will offer to the large vessels a viable alternative to the green fuel, as the industry acknowledges that the fuel demand will vastly exceed the supply.

In the mean time, the safety and waste issues with the actual nuclear reactors are much reduced, making public acceptance easier.

The activity of PROPELCORE will allow PROPELSEAS to get a decisive and large impact on shipping decarbonization

With our partner planette.be we have developed an interesting, small cargo vessel purely powered by solar energy, combining a vast array of photovoltaic panels fitted on the roof of the catamaran and connected to a suitable battery pack ensuring the required autonomy.

This solution is two-fold:

• extend the reach of our sea-going decarbonization effort to inland destinations using zero-emission river transportation;
• provide a smart, affordable zero-fuel, zero-emission decarbonization tool for the inter-island trade of the SIDS (Small Island Developing States), so that nobody is left behind. 

Think Big, Start Small, Scale Fast 

Jim Carroll, futurist