Renault relies on Neoline sailboats to transport its vehicles across the Atlantic

In full Sea Meetings, the car manufacturer Renault announced on November 27th the signing of a three-year partnership with the Nantes start-up Neoline, whose ambition is to "become the first owner focused on energy efficiency, relying on a main propulsion to the sail ".

Renault currently transports nearly 60% of its parts and vehicles by sea. The objective is to develop "a sustainable maritime transport service" to transport between 50 and 100 vehicles per year between Saint-Nazaire, the East coast of the United States and Saint-Pierre & Miquelon from 2021.

Two wind-powered cargo ships will be put into service. They should allow the car group to reduce its carbon footprint by 25% between 2010 and 2022, including 6% for the supply chain. Each ship should cost around 35 million euros. The construction of the first is expected to begin in the first half of 2019, and that of the second a few months later.

(Video: Renault Group Partnership & Neoline Shipdesign)

Up to 90% less CO2 emissions

Started in 2015, the Neoline project has made it possible to design a 136-meter long commercial demonstrator with a fleet of 4,200 m² managed by 15 crew members. Combined with a so-called economic speed (13 days to cross the atlantic against 8 days for a clbadic propulsion), the wind propulsion will allow this ro-ro ship to reduce its CO2 emissions by up to 90%, compared to a traditional freighter. on an equivalent journey.

"The ambition of the Renault Group is to reduce the ecological footprint of each vehicle throughout its life cycle, from the transportation of manufacturing parts to delivery and end-of-life treatment," says Jean. -Philippe Hermine, Strategy and Environmental Planning Director of the Renault Group in a press release.

Other initiatives, such as "natural gas transportation between parts suppliers and production sites, the badessment of the environmental performance of carriers, the modernization of truck fleets, or the optimization of our flows to reduce the number of kilometers traveled and remove empty journeys "are developed, according to Jean-François Salles, Industrial Programming Director Alliance.

For its part, Neoline intends to bring "an innovative French response to a universal environmental challenge while remaining in an industrial and competitive environment," says Jean Zanuttini, its managing director.

(Photos: mauric)