Spanish wind assisted propulsion systems (WAPS) company bound4blue has closed a US$ 44m funding round backed by maritime corporates, ship owning families, climate-focused investors and government capital.
The round was led by Octave Capital, an investment platform affiliated with major shipowner IMC, and Katapult Ocean. The round brings together new investors including Motion Ventures, Odfjell family office and ReOcean Fund – led by the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation and Monaco Asset Management – alongside existing investors Shift4Good, GTT Strategic Ventures, KAI Capital and CDTI (Innvierte SICC), who strengthened their commitment to the company.
José Miguel Bermúdez, CEO and Co-Founder, bound4blue, said: “This round signals a new phase for bound4blue. Earlier stages focused on proving the technology and validating its impact; now this new capital reinforces the long-term backing we already have from investors who understand shipping and share our industrial vision and the role this technology will play across the fleet. This funding enables us to expand capacity, accelerate our growth roadmap and advance new developments that will elevate both the technology and our services to the next level. It confirms that bound4blue is built on solid foundations and positioned for sustained global deployment.”
The investment underscores the company’s view that suction sails are emerging as a leading pathway for immediate, scalable decarbonisation across the global fleet with commercial gains. The new funding will accelerate bound4blue’s shift into full industrialisation of suction sails and support efforts to deepen R&D as the company looks to grow beyond existing commercial offerings. The company is responding to increased market demand by expanding manufacturing capacity to supply hundreds of suction sails annually.
Operational data continues to confirm the scale of impact bound4blue’s systems have had across several fleets. The company has already installed its technology on seven vessels, with a further 12 ships in the orderbook – representing more than 50 sails in total. These projects span owners such as Maersk Tankers, Eastern Pacific Shipping, Odfjell, Klaveness Combination Carriers and BW Epic Kosan, reinforcing bound4blue’s position in the sector.
By 2027, the company expects to have delivered, for its customers, annual CO₂e savings of more than 400,000t, with over 570,000t avoided in total between 2024 and 2027. This will be done through parallel production lines in Spain and China, enabling higher production throughput, stronger supply-chain resilience and faster delivery schedules.
May Liew, CEO Octave Capital, said: “We invested in bound4blue because wind propulsion systems have moved from promising innovation to proven, scalable climate infrastructure. For the maritime sector, where long-dated fuel transitions remain critical but still years from wide-scale adoption, this technology provides the real and immediate carbon emissions reductions needed right now. With bound4blue industrialising production across both Europe and Asia, the team is well positioned it to lead the category worldwide. As an impact-driven investor with an interest in decarbonising hard-to-abate sectors, we believe bound4blue will play a critical role in accelerating shipping’s transition while delivering measurable carbon savings from day one.”
Jonas Skattum Svegaarden, CEO Katapult Ocean, added: “After years of looking for the right opportunity in this space, we were driven to invest in bound4blue as wind propulsion has clearly shifted from experimental concept to bankable decarbonisation tool, and bound4blue in particular has proven it can deliver meaningful, verifiable fuel and emissions reductions at a category-defining pace. As the team scales into Asia and deepens partnerships with leading shipowners, we’re confident that their combination of technical performance, commercial traction, and global supply chain ambition will make bound4blue a cornerstone solution in the transition to a cleaner, more resilient ocean economy.”
By generating additional thrust from wind power, bound4blue’s eSail suction sails reduce engine loads and fuel consumption, cutting vessel operating costs (with double digit savings) and CO₂ emissions. This greatly improves regulatory performance under frameworks like CII, EEXI/EEDI, FuelEU Maritime and EU ETS. Independently verified results demonstrate consistent, tangible impact in service. On Ville de Bordeaux, third-party assessments reported daily fuel savings of 1.7t, with peaks reaching 5.4t. Separately, on Odfjell’s Bow Olympus, the system delivered average fuel saving of 15%-20%, with voyage-leg peaks of up to 40% reductions during its first transatlantic voyage. Verified under full operational conditions, bound4blue’s suction sails are said to be delivering real savings today on vessels trading globally.
According to bound4blue. the maritime industry is entering the ‘retrofit decade’, with tens of thousands of vessels requiring efficiency upgrades before 2030. Unlike alternative fuels, which face long timelines for global availability, engine compatibility and bunkering infrastructure, suction sails can be installed today, on today’s ships, operated by today’s crews. The technology is increasingly being incorporated into newbuild designs, where it offers an additional long-term lever to reduce fuel consumption and carbon exposure from day one. This positions bound4blue to support both the large retrofit wave already underway and the growing number of newbuild projects integrating wind propulsion from the outset.
Image: eSail installation on Bow Olympus, owned by Odfjell (source: bound4blue)
