text: Airbus announced plans to equip a vessel it uses to transport aircraft subassemblies from Europe to Mobile with fuel-saving sails technology, cutting carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by as much as 1,800 tons per year.
  On Sunday night, the ship Ville de Bordeaux, equipped with the eSAIL system, arrived in Mobile after a successful transatlantic journey.
  “We were proud to welcome the Ville de Bordeaux this week on its first voyage from Saint-Nazaire with its newly installed eSAILs,” said Daryl Taylor, Airbus senior vice president of Commercial Aircraft Operations in the U.S. “This is an exciting step in our journey to decarbonize industrial maritime activities.”
  The eSAIL, developed by Spain-based bound4blue, creates as much as six to seven times more lift than conventional rigid sails. The technology consists of a sail-like vertical surface and an electric-powered air suction system that helps the airflow re-adhere to the sail, reducing load on a ship’s main engines.
  “We at Airbus have been studying wind-assisted technologies as a potential energy source for our maritime operations for many years,” said Nicolas Chrétien, head of Sustainability & Environment at Airbus. “As we embark on an exciting journey with our partners Louis Dreyfus Armateurs and bound4blue, we reaffirm our ambition to explore all innovation pathways to develop more sustainable maritime solutions and further reduce the carbon footprint of our industrial operations. This technology looks promising, and we are eager to start testing it in real conditions by the end of the year.”
  Reducing the environmental impact of its industrial operations is a top objective for Airbus. Fitting eSAILs on the Ville de Bordeaux supports Airbus’ pledge to halve CO2 emissions from its maritime operations by 2030, compared to a 2015 baseline.
  According to bound4blue estimates, the eSAILs could deliver fuel and CO2 emissions savings of up to 560 tons and 1,800 tons respectively for the Ville de Bordeaux annually. Installation of the eSAILS on the ship was co-funded by the European Union.
  In 2015, Mobile became home to Airbus’ first U.S.-based commercial aircraft manufacturing facility. The plant, which employs about 1,800 people, is undergoing a massive expansion that’s expected to add another 1,000 workers by 2025. Learn more about Airbus U.S. operations here.