Expedition cruise company, PONANT, is to receive INNOVFUND support for its Swap2Zero project, the first transoceanic ship aimed at carbon neutrality.
This European Commission aid has been awarded towards development of a combination of renewable energies to achieve its de-carbonisation goals.
The aid is financed by revenue from the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS), and is one of the world’s largest funding programmes for the deployment of low carbon energies technologies.
The company said that this decision marked a milestone in recognition being gained for efforts to accelerate the transition to de-carbonise the cruise sector. It also highlighted the commitment of the entire industrial sector mobilised in France to anticipate the challenges of de-carbonisation expected by 2050.
PONANT’s initiative has also received support from the French Government and BPI, as part of the CORIMER 2023 calls for expressions of interest, which ambition’s is fully aligned with the goals set by France 2030 and CORIMER’s ‘Green Ship’ roadmap aimed at accelerating the transformation and deployment of technological solutions within the maritime industry.
“Getting this grant sends a very encouraging message to teams working on this ambitious de-carbonisation project. The recognition acknowledges PONANT’s pioneering spirit. With the Swap2Zero project we are building a showcase of French technology around the first zero-emission ship in operation,” said Patrick Augier, PONANT’s General Secretary.
This grant validates years of research and development driven by PONANT’s R&D and newbuilding engineers, orchestrated by Director, Mathieu Petiteau.
It also confirms the Swap2Zero project, which aims at zero CO2 emissions in operation with one month, due to six de-carbonisation technologies as building blocks:
- A sail power system and hull providing 50% of the propulsion energy using wind force.
- A surface area totalling over 1,000 sq m of eco-designed photovoltaic panels produced in France.
- A low temperature fuel cell operating on liquid hydrogen for propulsion, with the water and heat produced being recycled.
- A high temperature fuel cell to meet the ship’s hotel load needs, with the heat emitted being recovered and used to produce hot water.
- On board carbon capture technology, coupled with the high temperature fuel cell.
- An innovative bespoke energy management system to control and distribute power without generators operating.
The company plans to operate a de-carbonised ship by 2030, while contributing to the development of innovative solutions for more sustainable tourism, PONANT said.
