New partnership to ‘give wind a voice’ in maritime industry, promote new tech

French activist shipping company Windcoop and offshore sailing team and sustainability platform Team Malizia have joined forces to promote wind technology for a carbon-neutral future in maritime transportation.

Windcoop and Team Malizia have agreed to actively collaborate towards their common goal of publicly promoting the application, innovation, and benefits of wind propulsion technologies.

The partners want to jointly advocate climate action across their wide networks and partnerships in business, politics and society, and to make people better understand the impact of climate change.

“Maritime transport is responsible for around 3% of global carbon dioxide emissions”, said Boris Herrmann, skipper of the international sailing team.”

“Windcoop and Team Malizia share the same fascination and vision for wind propulsion technologies. This collaboration gives wind a “voice” in the maritime industry.”

“We are delighted to be associated with Team Malizia,” added Nils Joyeux, Managing Director of Windcoop and CEO of Zéphyr and Borée.

“Through their mission A Race We Must Win – Climate Action Now!, they highlight sustainable initiatives to attention. As offshore competitors, they attract a large audience and can also bring in their expertise from ocean racing. By our side, we have chosen to organize our shipping company into a cooperative, precisely to enable many people to be involved in shipping transition that is urgently needed.”

“Our partnership, therefore, seems obvious to us, Team Malizia presents with Windcoop a concrete solution to fight against global warming…”

Windcoop is the first carbon-free shipping company structured as a cooperative. Windcoop operates container ships under sail, propelled mostly by wind power. 

The first sailing cargo will go into building this year. The ambition is for it to be owned by a host of shipowners wishing to accelerate the transition of maritime transport. 

Windcoop vessel, 85 meters long, is expected to be operational on the France-Madagascar route from 2025.

The number of wind-installed vessels is set to double in the next twelve months, according to estimates from the International Windship Association (IWSA).

Based on public announcements and shipyard orders made to-date, by the end of 2023, up to fifty large ships are expected to use wind as a renewable energy source with a combined tonnage of over three million DWT.