Renault and Neoline’s sustainable team-up

The deal, signed during the 2018 Assises de la Mer maritime conference held in Brest, is to build two ships based on Neoline’s prototype ro-ro ship which is capable of reducing CO2 emissions by up to 90 per cent.

The 136 metre demo has 4,200 sqm of sail area and features a combination of technical solutions borrowed from the maritime transport industry as well as from competitive sailing.

Jean-François Salles, Groupe Renault’s alliance global director, production control, said: “The partnership with Neoline is the latest example of our supply chain’s commitment to reduce its carbon footprint by 6% between 2016 and 2022.”

Jean Zanuttini, chief executive of Neoline, added: “Considering that traditional sea freight accounts for nearly 3% of CO2 emissions in Europe, Neoline aims to build an innovative French solution to address a global environmental challenge while remaining within an industrial and competitive framework, with the support from its partners.”

The planned pilot route will join Saint-Nazaire, the US eastern seaboard and Saint-Pierre & Miquelon and the ships will be commissioned in 2020/2021.