Every day, Anicet Mbida makes us discover an innovation that could well change the way we consume.
This Monday, he returns to the initiative of Sweden, which is building the first giant sailing freighter, a non-polluting container ship.
This Monday morning, a naval innovation that could do good for the planet. These are the first non-polluting container ships, sailing freighters.
The return of the transport of goods by sail.
But this time, nothing to do with the schooners of the time and their flexible sails.
Rather, imagine 80-meter airplane wings placed vertically on the masts.
So rigid sails controlled by computer.
A first giant of the seas will be equipped with it: the Swedish Wallenius Marine's wPCC.
It is 200 meters long, 40 wide and it will be able to cross the Atlantic with 7,000 cars on board just by the force of the wind.
You should know that today 90% of the transport of goods is carried out by boat.
Cargo ships fueled with heavy fuel oil, extremely polluting.
However, these emissions are responsible for 60,000 deaths each year.
This is why there is a lot of innovation in the sector to find solutions.
Is this sailing freighter competitive against conventional freighters?
A priori, yes.
Admittedly, it goes much slower with 12 days to cross the Atlantic compared to seven for a fuel oil freighter.
But since it hardly consumes any more fuel, you save money and there is more room for freight.
Its profitability would therefore be equivalent, or even better.
Moreover, this is not the only sailing cargo project.
In France, for example, there are those from Nantes Neoline or Zéphyr et Borée who should set sail within two or three years.
We are also working on hydrogen ferries which no longer emit toxic fumes, but only water vapor.
This will avoid suffocating the port cities.
We remember the health problems that there were in Marseille last year.