On the occasion of the maritime event La Mer XXL, NEOLINE announces that it has chosen the offer of the Loire-based company Neopolia S.A.S. for the construction of its first two innovative sailing main propulsion vessels. This decision follows the international call for tenders launched in 2018 by NEOLINE to some fifteen shipyards. The construction of the first ship is scheduled to start at the end of 2019, with a launch scheduled for the end of 2021.
- NEOLINE is developing a new transport service based on the operation of innovative ro-ro sailing vessels, saving 80% to 90% of consumption and the associated carbon footprint. Scheduled to start up in 2021, the first line will connect Saint-Nazaire to the American east coast and Saint-Pierre & Miquelon.
- Neopolia S.A.S. is a company created by the Neopolia network, whose purpose is to federate and develop work together 235 companies on major industrial projects to ensure the development of industrial sectors through its market clusters within the Pays de la Loire Region. Neopolia S.A.S. offers collaborative, innovative and sustainable solutions that create value for members and the territory, but also for customers..
With the support of key players such as Groupe Renault, Manitou Group and Groupe Beneteau, who have validated the logistical and economic relevance of the new service for the region’s manufacturers, NEOLINE is taking another major step forward with the signing of a Letter of Order Intent with Neopolia S.A.S.
Built by Neopolia, NEOLINE’s ships are intended to become real international ambassadors for the territory’s companies, and to embody France’s ability to achieve its energy transition in the field of maritime transport.
This signature is also an important success for the company Neopolia S.A.S, which has succeeded to federate its members to meet the specifications of a demanding project that offers new perspectives for the Loire-based naval industry.
Michel PERY, President of NEOLINE, says:
“Neopolia has been a strong partner and a support since NEOLINE was created in 2015, and has accompanied us at every step. However, this decision follows an international call for tenders, at the end of which we objectively considered that the offer brought by Neopolia and its members is the best technically and economically. Their ability to listen to the shipowner’s needs has enabled them to bring appropriate technical proposals, as well as an organisation able to respond to the constraints of an innovative project like NEOLINE.
In addition, we are very pleased to have been able to select the construction offer of a local player, because we are convinced that sailing propulsion is a new sector of excellence for French shipbuilding, with strong development potential.
Our team is now fully dedicated, with the support of Neopolia and all our partners, to mobilize the necessary financing to realize this innovative, ecological and industrial project, emblematic for the Pays de la Loire Region and France”.
Alain LEROY, President of Neopolia, says:
“Neopolia’s mission and vocation is to structure industrial sectors within the Pays de la Loire, including renewable energies and mobility, so it is quite naturally that we have supported the NEOLINE project, a fine example of a collaborative project in our region (sectors, companies, services, skills, training, infrastructure and institutions): NEOLINE, Les Pays de la Loire and Neopolia, a real industrial and sustainable solution for the CSR of our Customers and companies.
After more than three years of joint work, and through the important commitment of Hervé Germain (1st VP Neopolia), the Marine cluster led by Pascal Lemesle and Vincent Seguin de Mauric, our new tool, Neopolia SAS, has been able to propose to NEOLINE a response for this innovative project that will revolutionize maritime transport.
Ecologically, economically and operationally, the NEOLINE project is already demonstrating its credibility”.
With the objective of launching the construction of the first ship before the end of the year, has yet to be finalised:
– The financing of this operation, with Neopolia SAS’s financial partners (Arkea, CIC Ouest, Champollion Finance and Crédit Agricole,…), and those mobilised by NEOLINE;
– The guarantee mechanism, for which we expect the support of the French and European institutions at the highest level, as exchanged with the President of the Republic on 17 June 2019.
