Ponant and Farwind Energy work together

26/03/2024

PONANT and FARWIND Energy Partner to Develop Green Hydrogen Refueling Solutions

In the ongoing quest to find ways to decarbonize and thus play its part in the maritime industry’s energy transition, PONANT is collaborating with the Nantes-based startup FARWIND Energy. Under study: innovative solutions for ship refueling with renewable hydrogen.

We are proud to share our roadmap with PONANT, an innovative company committed to low carbon navigation. This collaboration opens up new perspectives for our highly innovative renewable energy production technology. Capable of being produced near the ship’s operating areas, our liquid hydrogen represents a promising solution to decarbonize maritime transport.

Arnaud Poitou, Chairman of FARWIND Energy

PONANT and FARWIND Energy: a joint roadmap

PONANT’s Swap2zero programme to achieve carbon neutrality when in operation by 2030 and FARWIND’s energy ship project will be developed in close collaboration in order to:

share progress on the management of hydrogen on board;
collaborate on development of first use cases;
overcoming potential technological obstacles;
commission PONANT’s Swap2Zero project and the first energy ship at the same time by 2030.

FARWIND Energy: accelerate the maritime transport industry’s energy transition

A company with a mission, based in Nantes and the Caribbean, FARWIND Energy develops cutting edge solutions to enable renewable energy to be supplied as close as possible to its point of consumption and in a form adapted to requirements. Its energy ship technology aims to produce electricity at sea from offshore wind and transform it into hydrogen by the electrolysis of seawater.
The hydrogen can be transported to shore to be used as a fuel, a solution particularly well suited to island territories, or refueling of a ship can take place at sea.

PONANT: Swap2zero, a catalyst for new energy solutions by 2030

By 2030, PONANT is working on one of the sector’s most innovative R&D projects. Swap2Zero is the first concept of a transoceanic vessel aiming to approach, as far as state-of-the-art technology will allow, carbon neutrality for its future ships, whether sailing, maneuvering, in port or at anchor.
Wind power is at the heart of the project and low-temperature fuel cells operating on liquid hydrogen for propulsion are also being studied. The project aims to be a catalyst for new energy solutions with strong replicability potential for the rest of the industry.

This collaboration is an opportunity to jointly develop a major project that associates a ship with her own source of renewable energy produced locally. It is an unprecedented revolutionary approach that makes total sense. The Swap2Zero programme is the ideal demonstrator to scale up this solution and set new standards.

Mathieu Petiteau, Newbuilding and R&D Director at PONANT