The innovative Solid Sail Mast, which will be installed for the first time on the BV-classed Neoliner, has won the Jec Composites Innovation Award 2023 in the Maritime Transportation and Shipbuilding category.

Journées Européens des Composites (JEC) is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting composite materials and their applications. At their annual Composites Innovation Awards this year, they awarded the Maritime Transportation and Shipbuilding prize to Solid Sail Mast.

Chantiers de l’Atlantique’s Solid Sail Mast is an advanced and innovative alternative propulsion system for large vessels, it is a 66 meters carbon self-standing mast able to carry up to 1500m² of sail area.

Helping scale-up lower-carbon technology

Bureau Veritas participated in the project for over three years, alongside partners such as Avel Robotic, CDK, Hexcel, Lorima, Meca, Multiplast and SMM. The project aimed to industrialize the manufacturing process of large rigs and optimize it for the marine market with:

• High levels of precision and productivity with fewer processes
• Lower production costs and reduced waste
• Greater consistency in the mass production of part