AYRO and decarbonisation in shipping

AYRO is a young French industrial company in the maritime sector, created in 2018 and whose origins lie in the development of the VPLP naval architecture studio.

AYRO designs and industrialises a patented concept, called Oceanwings®, a sail propulsion system adapted to maritime transport and sailing. Oceanwings® is an automated wing that makes efficient use of the wind. This system, which can be used on new vessels or as a retrofit, offers a solution that significantly reduces greenhouse gas emissions by reducing fuel consumption by between 10% and 45%, depending on the environment in which the vessel is located. This is an important contribution to the decarbonisation of global shipping, one of the biggest challenges facing this sector in the coming years.

For its development, AYRO wanted to take an interest in European subsidies and rely on Zabala Innovation’s experience in this field for this new challenge. Thus, AYRO launched Winnew, a project that ended up being financed by the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) programme of the European Commission, the aim of which was to support innovative SMEs in this field.

The aim of Winnew is to initiate the development of the Oceanwings® 363 concept on the Canopée vessel, which will carry the Ariane 6 launcher to French Guiana in the coming years. Winnew started in September 2021 and will last 27 months. The aim is to complete the development of Canopée’s four wind thrusters, for delivery in December 2022, and then conduct sea trials from early 2023 by monitoring Atlantic crossings for approximately one year.

Winnew is an important project for AYRO, as it opens up new development opportunities by placing it at the heart of the European maritime innovation ecosystem.

Zabala Innovation has accompanied AYRO from the description of the Winnew assembly, through the oral interview with a panel of experts, and then in the preparation of the grant agreement and in the management and monitoring of the project. Post-funding support not only allows the client to benefit from Zabala Innovation’s expertise in the efficient management of European projects, but also ensures that the client follows all the rules that apply to this type of funding, from the start of the project to the submission of the final report.