Michelin: Inflatable Sail System in Practical Testing

According to its own statements, Michelin wants to contribute to greener shipping with the wing sail Wisamo (Wing Sail Mobility), which was presented at the Movin'On Summit 2021. A partnership agreement has now been signed with Compagnie Maritime Nantaise to test the system on a French shipping company's commercial vessel.

For this purpose, a wing prototype with a surface area of 100 square meters will be installed on the container ship MN Pélican. The tests are to be conducted under real conditions on a route between the United Kingdom and Spain. If the sail trials are successful, further tests with larger wing sails are planned, with the long-term goal of eventually using the sail system for commercial shipping. The MN Pélican, chartered by Brittany Ferries since 2016, operates twice weekly between Poole (United Kingdom) and Bilbao (Spain). The RoRo container ship is scheduled to be equipped with the Wisamo sail system in the second half of 2022.

In parallel, Michelin is testing another prototype with a sail area of also 100 square meters on the sailboat of skipper Michel Desjoyeaux. Between June and December 2021, the sail was already in use on Lake Neuchâtel in Switzerland. From February 2022 onwards, it is supposed to withstand the winter sailing conditions on the Bay of Biscay for Desjoyeaux's boat.

According to Michelin, in line with their "All Sustainable" corporate strategy, the decarbonization of maritime traffic is to be further advanced. The inflatable sail was developed in close collaboration between Michelin's R&D department and two Swiss developers. According to the developers, it can be automatically deployed and retracted and is intended for use not only on commercial ships such as RoRo ships, bulk carriers, gas tankers, and other tankers, but also on sports boats.