On November 8, 2022 at the Assises de l’économie de la mer (conference on the sea economy), Hervé Berville, Secretary of State for the Sea, announced that the project Williwaw (formerly Mervent) was laureate for the AMI CORIMER 2022.

The project is to design and build an industrial container ship equipped with rigid wings and dual fuel diesel – methanol propulsion, enabling CO₂ emissions to be reduced by at least 50% then operate it on a transatlantic route.

The call for expressions of interest CORIMER (Research and Innovation Guidance Council for the Sea Industry) supports research and development projects by companies in the maritime sector, focusing on four themes: the transition to zero-emission ships, intelligent ships and autonomous systems, new materials and intelligent shipyards/plants, and the new-generation offshore industry (renewable marine energies, renewable hydrogen).

The project Williwaw is led by 4 main players : Zéphyr et Borée shipowner and operator), Computed Wing Sail (creator of the ship’s wing system), OSE Engineering and Centrale Nantes (work on ship energy efficiency.