AYRO has announced the close of a €19.2 million ($21 million) Series B round funding for its OceanWings wingsail solution.
This was led by Blue Ocean, managed by SWEN Capital Partners, bringing the total funding for the wind-powered decarbonation solutions provider for the maritime sector to over €30 million ($31.6 million).
Existing investors Ocean Zero and Bpifrance, through its Ecotechnology 2 fund, as part of France 2030 initiatives, participated in the round, alongside new investors AmInvest, Colam Impact, Normandie Participations, Normandie Littoral and FCPI Capital Innovant n°2 managed by SWEN Capital Partners.
Christian Lim, Managing Director of Blue Ocean will join the board of AYRO.
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Emmanuel Schalit, AYRO’s new CEO, said: “Every year, some 90,000 ships transport nine billion tonnes of goods globally, accounting for almost 90 per cent of all logistics flows. Reducing the emissions of these ships is an urgent priority.
“The good news is that wind is free, available on every ocean, and the technology to harness it is now mature and available.”
Christian Lim, Managing Director of SWEN Capital Partners, added: “Blue Ocean backs startups that can deliver both systemic impact for ocean health and competitive market returns.
“We studied the wind propulsion market in detail for two years and concluded that AYRO is clearly positioned to be a global leader in this sector.”
More recently, APM Terminals (APMT) held a ceremony after investing €380 million ($407 million) in the Croatian Rijeka Gateway terminal.
