Wind-powered cargo ship Canopée has recently completed its first transatlantic voyage, carrying a satellite and its various components from Toulouse to the Guiana Space Centre in Kourou. Weighing 42 tonnes in total, the load was transported over nearly 7,000 km during a 3-week period.

Bolloré Logistics was the first shipper to transport cargo on the sail-powered cargo ship. This next-generation cargo ship was designed to meet the specific needs of rocket and satellite transport: it offers minimal vibration conditions thus limiting the impact of any shocks and vibrations that might affect components during long-distance transport. Depending on its speed, a wind-powered vessel can cut carbon emissions by 20 per cent to 30 per cent compared to an equivalent ship with conventional propulsion.

“Wind-powered propulsion is a solution for the future that we are exploring with great interest. It has the advantage of meeting all the technical constraints imposed by the space industry, while offering a decarbonised transport plan over a distance of several thousand kilometres. The data collected and the feedback received from this initial transport have fully confirmed our prior analysis and our desire to continue our collaboration for future projects,” said Rédouane Akchouch, Sales Director Europe for Aerospace and Defence at Bolloré Logistics.

Being aware of the environmental impact of its activities, Bolloré Logistics developed a CSR programme entitled “Powering Sustainable Logistics” in 2018. The company aims to support the environment by reducing its carbon footprint and offering its customers more sustainable solutions. In particular, it has committed to reducing scope 3 CO2 emissions from its transport services by 30% by 2030 (baseline 2019).