French designer and manufacturer of wingsail solutions AYRO has decided to rebrand as OceanWings and introduce an expanded wingsail portfolio designed to adapt to the cargo needs of ships of various types and sizes.
As informed, the rebranding follows a successful design, manufacturing and commercialization phase over the past six years, booked in 2023 by the launch and subsequent commercial operations of the Canopée cargo ship, equipped with four fuel-saving OceanWings wingsails. Canopée was built by Dutch shipbuilding firm Neptune Marine.
The announcement was made at Posidonia 2024 in Athens, Greece. The company is adopting the OceanWings branding as its sole company brand, to streamline communication as it evolves and expands its wingsail portfolio to accommodate a more flexible, modular approach.
The semi-rigid and new rigid OceanWings share the same ‘two flap variable camber’ design – including the wingsail base and boom.
The OceanWings product range also features a “safety-by-design” flag mode, automatically protecting the OceanWings and the vessel when wind or sea conditions exceed specific thresholds, according to AYRO.
The company noted that its product range now also includes configuration options such as a tilt mechanism, to address air draft requirements, and an elevator mechanism specially designed for containerships to comply with their port operation constraints while minimizing the impact on container capacity.
Rigid OceanWings are made from the same modern composite materials following the same manufacturing processes as wind turbine blades.
According to AYRO, this provides advantages in resilience and lifespan, as well as leverages a global manufacturing infrastructure. The new modular design also optimizes transportation and installation.
Last year, AYRO secured a €19.2 million ($21 million) Series B round financing for its OceanWings.