French yacht maker Beneteau Group has joined domestic start-up Neoline's project to build a sail-powered cargo vessel.
It wants to use the ship to export its boats across the Atlantic, Neoline said.
Magdeleine Allaume, purchasing and supply chain director of Beneteau Group, said: "The Beneteau Group exports nearly 80% of the boats built in Europe. A large part of these exports is to the United States.
"The exceptional dimensions of our boats and the need to preserve their quality at each stage of transport, make this flow a real logistical challenge.
"Neoline offers a tailor-made solution, ecologically and economically relevant for our transatlantic flows, and with a load closer to our shipyards. As the world's leading manufacturer of sailing yachts, the use of sailing in the world of maritime transport appeared to us as obvious, cleverly implemented by the Neoline project. "
Renault also on board
In November, Groupe Renault teamed up with Neoline to develop cargo sailing ships for transatlantic operation.
The companies said they will build two wind-powered Neoliner vessels by 2020 and 2021 to reduce dependency on fossil fuels and greenhouse gases.
It will run them between Saint-Nazaire in France, the east coast of the US and the French islands of Saint-Pierre & Miquelon off Canada.
Neoline believes its vessels have the potential to reduce CO2 emissions by up to 90% through the use of wind power primarily, combined with a cost-cutting speed and optimised energy mix, compared to a traditional cargoship on an equivalent route.
The proposed vessel is a 136-metre ro-ro with 4,200 square meters of sail area.
Neoline was founded in 2015 and wants to become the first shipowner to fully embrace energy efficiency by relying on wind power as its primary energy source.
Nearly 60% of Renault's car parts are transported by sea.
