European Shipping Turns to Wind Power to Cut Emissions and Fuel Costs

Brussels, Belgium – 25 June 2026. Wind propulsion offers credible pathways to reducing both fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions in maritime transport. However, before large-scale investment can be unlocked, shipowners require robust real-world performance data. With support from the European Union, a new European initiative aims to address this critical gap through full-scale demonstrators, validated operational datasets and decision-support tools.

Launched today in Brussels, the new EU-funded project AWESOME will provide shipowners with validated performance data, practical toolsets and standardised methodologies to assess wind-assisted propulsion systems.

Its objective is to reduce uncertainty, de-risk investment decisions and accelerate the adoption of commercially viable emissions-reduction solutions across the maritime sector.
Coordinated by Kongsberg Maritime and supported by 14 partners across Europe, the Horizon Europe-funded project brings together industry stakeholders and leading research organisations to support the transition towards low and zero-emission shipping. AWESOME addresses the technical, operational and regulatory barriers that continue to hinder large-scale deployment of wind propulsion technologies.

“Wind propulsion is one of the most promising routes towards a maritime sector that is both compliant with evolving regulations and commercially viable. We are confident that AWESOME represents a major step forward towards the large-scale deployment of these technologies,” said Kjerstin Kleyne Braaten, SVP Emerging Solutions at Kongsberg Maritime.

AWESOME will assess the integration of wind propulsion systems with onboard control, automation and vessel operations under real-life operating conditions. The work will support compliance with regulatory frameworks such as FuelEU Maritime and upcoming IMO requirements, whilst also helping shipowners reduce fuel consumption at a time when conventional fuels are increasingly being replaced by more expensive low-carbon alternatives.

De-Risking Investment and Enabling Scale-Up

For many shipowners, the main barrier remains uncertainty around performance, return on investment and operational impact. AWESOME partners will address this by generating validated performance datasets and developing decision-support tools to facilitate the assessment of available solutions.

At-Sea Demonstrators in Real Operation

Two vessels already in commercial operation will form the backbone of the project demonstrators. One represents a retrofit installation with wind-assisted propulsion, whilst the other is a purpose-designed vessel integrating wind propulsion from the outset.
The first is a chemical tanker operated by Odfjell Management, demonstrating how wind-assisted propulsion can be retrofitted into existing tonnage through proven retrofit solutions. This vessel is equipped with suction sails that provide significant fuel savings alongside conventional propulsion.

The second is Neoliner Origin, a 136-metre hybrid ro-ro cargo vessel designed with wind propulsion. It is equipped with 3,000 m² of sail area and engineered to reduce fossil-fuel emissions by up to 80 per cent compared with a conventional vessel of similar size. It will demonstrate how wind propulsion can be optimised when integrated from the earliest design stages.

Together, these vessels will generate high-quality operational data across different ship types and trading profiles. These insights will help reduce risk and accelerate the industrial uptake of wind propulsion and wind-assisted propulsion technologies.

Supporting Industry and Regulatory Adoption

“Europe is currently a global leader in wind-assisted propulsion. AWESOME will help strengthen this position by pooling public and private expertise to enable large-scale deployment. The outcome will be reduced emissions and a more economically viable use of sustainable alternative fuels,” said Jaap Gebraad, Secretary General of Waterborne Technology Platform, which is closely involved in the initiative.

This collaboration will also support wider industry adoption by improving how vessel performance is measured, documented and utilised. The project will generate actionable knowledge for crews, operators and future regulatory developments.

About the Project

AWESOME, which stands for Advanced Wind Energy System Optimisation and Monitoring for Efficiency, brings together 15 leading European partners covering the full maritime value chain. The consortium enables an integrated approach spanning design, simulation, onboard control systems, crew training, performance verification and commercial deployment. The project is funded with approximately €9 million under Horizon Europe.

AWESOME, which stands for Advanced Wind Energy System Optimisation and Monitoring for Efficiency, brings together 15 leading European partners covering the full maritime value chain. The consortium enables an integrated approach spanning design, simulation, onboard control systems, crew training, performance verification and commercial deployment. The project is funded with approximately €9 million under Horizon Europe.

Technology Developers and Systems Integrators

• Kongsberg Maritime (NO) : Coordinator,
• Syroco (Fr),
• Bound4blue (ES),
• Chantiers de l’Atlantique (Fr).

Shipowners and Operators

• Odfjell: Management (NO),
• NEOLINE (Fr).

Research Institutes

• SINTEF Ocean (NO),
• SINTEF Digital (NO),
• National Technical University of Athens : NTUA (G),
• MARIN (NL)

Naval Architecture and Engineering

Classification and Verification

Decarbonisation and Dissemination Hub

MAURIC 

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