Our Way 1
WHY OCEANBIRD? TO CREATE A CHANGE, YOU NEED A VIS
ION AND STRONG SUPPORT FOR THAT VISION. WE HAVE BOTH. WALLENUS MARINE partnered with KTH and SSPA, creating a cluster of competence. Together they applied for project funds and were approved for co-financing by the Swedish Transport Administration (Trafikverket) which fully embraced the project, calling it one of the most important and valuable investments in sustain able solutions. This boosted the project potential, and in the beginning of 2019, it went from being an idea on paper to something that actually would become a reality. The economic and technical calcu lations, simulations and tests intensified, with the first model launched in the summer of 2020. “When Wallenius contacted us at Trafikverket, we saw that they really wanted to tackle this issue of fossil fuel dependency. The Swedish government has the ambition to make Sweden one of the first fossil8 OUR WAY free nations in the world, not only out of responsibility towards coming generations, but also because it makes economic sense. The most impressive thing about Oceanbird is the fact that they really combined this new technology with a drive to implement it on a global scale. Since Wallenius Marine is a big shipping company, they really have the possibility to turn this project into a commercial success,” says Rein Jüriado, Chief Strategist at the Swedish Transport Administration. “The support from Trafikverket means a lot. Even though substantial private financing is put in this project, the support from Trafikverket has really made it possible to kick-start the research project. I would even go as far as saying this has shortened the delivery time for Oceanbird vessels by years,” concludes Josefin Falk. Rein Jüriado Chief Strategist, Swedish Transport Administration