WWL offers “green” grants

When it comes to being green, Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics (WWL), Lysaker, Norway, is putting its money where its mouth is. The Norwegian global shipping and logistics provider announced plans to award $100,000 in grants this year to entrepreneurs working on zero-emissions technologies for shipping and port logistics.

Last year, Marcello Seagato was the recipient of the 2010 Orcelle Grant. Seagato’s Seagate Commercial Marine, Milan, Italy, used the grant to invest in a feasibility study for collapsible delta sail technology. “As an Orcelle Grant recipient,” said Seagato, “I was also provided data needed (actual wind/sea conditions collected on real vessels on real routes) to calculate reliable estimations of the savings involved with our technology. We are very excited to complete the development and have the first applications installed on real vessels this year.”

WWL has also expanded the eligibility criteria for the Orcelle Grants, to include alternative energy sources and energy-efficient technologies with applications for: 1) commercial shipping and 2) terminal operations. This reflects WWL’s own R&D efforts into the E/S Orcelle, a zero emissions car carrier concept (above thumbnail and image inset below), and the Castor Green Terminal, a zero-emissions terminal and cargo processing center.
 
“A raft of new environmental regulations are coming to shipping and logistics over the next decade,” explains Arild B. Iversen, WWL CEO.

“By funding the Orcelle Grants, our aim is to stimulate innovation needed to meet these tough new environmental standards.” 
 
Melanie Moore, Vice President of Environment at WWL, observed, “WWL is focused on supporting early-stage innovation with serious prospects for long-term marketability. The Orcelle Grants are a commitment to entrepreneurship, but also the future of WWL and our customers.  Our goal is to provide funding that will help us realize our ambition of a zero emissions supply chain, and sooner rather than later.”
 

Applications are welcome from across the world from individual inventors, entrepreneurs and technology developers. Successful proposals will be those with the greatest environmental and commercial potential.
 
Applications are available at www.2wglobal.com/www/environment/OrcelleGrants.

The deadline for submitting applications is March 21, 2011. Winners will be announced in April 2011.