Crédit Mutuel Arkéa has become a minority shareholder in the cooperative Windcoop, which is developing a low-carbon shipping solution using new sail-powered container ships. The banking group, which will become a société à mission in 2022, is thus strengthening its commitment to the transitions of the future, in line with the actions taken by its maritime sector.

The Crédit Mutuel Arkéa group is a cooperative and local bank which, through its raison d'être and its commitments as a company with a mission, aims to support local economic players over the long term in their environmental and social transition. This is why the banking group has decided to acquire a stake in Windcoop, a company that is taking concrete action to reduce the carbon footprint of maritime transport. This is a major issue, since maritime transport alone accounts for almost 3% of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide, mainly due to the heavy fuel oil used as fuel by freight ships.

A new link between Marseille and Madagascar in 2026

Based in Lorient in the Morbihan region of Brittany, Windcoop is a shipping company set up as a cooperative to build and operate container ships that sail mainly under sail, reducing carbon emissions by up to 90%. The company has finalised plans for its new vessel, which is due to start construction shortly at the Piriou shipyard, in which Crédit Mutuel Arkéa is also a partner via its private equity subsidiary Arkéa Capital.
investment subsidiary Arkéa Capital.

At 88 metres long, the first Windcoop ship will have a capacity of 1,500 tonnes, or 150 containers, and will enable the first maritime freight line to be operated between Marseille and Madagascar in 2026. In line with its environmental commitments, Windcoop has also set itself the objective of integrating the local populations of the destinations on its sea freight lines into the company's dynamic, in particular by offering fair and dignified working conditions, whether in terms of boarding, rotations or remuneration.