CDTI Innovación, through its Innvierte initiative, has invested in bound4blue, a Spanish company with global reach that develops automated wind-assisted propulsion systems as a comprehensive solution for shipowners and shipping companies seeking to reduce fuel consumption and pollutant emissions.
Bound4blue, a company considered strategic by CDTI Innovación and for which it has committed an investment of more than €17 million as part of a newly closed $44 million funding round, will facilitate progress toward the full industrialization of this technological solution. This technology is consolidating itself as the immediate, scalable and cost-effective pathway to decarbonize the global fleet, delivering direct economic benefits to shipowners.
Bound4blue’s technological solution, the eSAIL® system, is suitable for tankers, bulk carriers, ro-ros, cruise ships, ferries, gas carriers and general cargo vessels, regardless of their size or age. Operational data continues to demonstrate the significant impact that these wind propulsion systems are having across different fleets. The company has installed its technology on seven vessels and has another twelve in the pipeline, totaling more than fifty sails.
By 2027, the company expects to generate annual savings of more than 400,000 tons of CO₂, with more than 570,000 tons avoided between 2024 and 2027. This is equivalent to removing around 87,000 cars from circulation each year, planting more than 18 million trees, or avoiding more than 250,000 transatlantic flights. These results will be made possible thanks to its parallel production lines in Spain and China, which will increase manufacturing speed, strengthen supply chain resilience, and shorten delivery times.
With this investment, CDTI Innovación reaffirms its commitment to promoting sustainable renewable energy initiatives applied to the maritime sector.
Innvierte is an initiative aimed at promoting business innovation by supporting venture capital investment in technology-based or innovative companies. This program is implemented through the closed-end collective investment company Innvierte Economía Sostenible SICC S.M.E., S.A., self-managed and supervised by the Spanish Securities Market Commission (CNMV), of which CDTI Innovación is the sole shareholder.
To date, CDTI Innovación has committed, through Innvierte, €2,885.8 million across 54 investment vehicles and, through its co-investment line, has directly committed €829.4 million in 197 companies.
Innvierte is part of the Spanish Strategy for Science, Technology and Innovation 2021–2027, approved by the Council of Ministers in September 2020. This Strategy sets out the objectives, reforms and measures to be adopted across the entire R&D&I ecosystem to boost its growth and impact and is one of the pillars underpinning the government’s R&D&I policy for the coming years.
The Centre for the Development of Industrial Technology and Innovation (CDTI E.P.E.) is the innovation agency of the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, whose objective is to promote technological innovation within the business sector. CDTI’s mission is to ensure that Spanish companies generate and transform scientific and technical knowledge into growth that is globally competitive, sustainable, and inclusive. In 2024, as part of a new strategic plan, CDTI provided more than €2.3 billion in support to Spanish companies and startups.
More information:
Web: www.cdti.es
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/29815
X: https://twitter.com/CDTI_innovacion
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/CDTIoficial
Bound4blue:
Web: www.bound4blue.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bound4blue
X: https://x.com/bound4blue
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