Virgin Group founder Sir Richard Branson revealed his new cruise brand, Virgin Voyages, with the first ship launching in 2020.

The cruise brand has officially signed a contract with Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri to construct three new ships and Virgin Voyages will be the first cruise line to adopt the clean energy system, Climeon Ocean.

Sir Richard said Virgin Voyages would be introducing a new brand of cruising to the market.

“Thousands of future sailors and travel professionals shared their thoughts with us and tasked us with delivering the most irresistible vacation at sea and that our name alone should leave them dizzy with anticipation,” said Sir Richard. “I’m excited to reveal we are now Virgin Voyages, and while we have lots of work head to build our three ships, we can’t wait to welcome you aboard the ship of things to come.”

Virgin Voyages is the first major cruise line to partner with Climeon, which will create a system that will transform low-grade energy into clean electricity. The result would mean that each ship would save 5,400 tonnes of carbon dioxide savings annually per ship – an amount that would take 180,000 trees 30 years to absorb.

“The Climeon heat power system is an environmental breakthrough, and working with Virgin is of major importance to us. We are excited that Sir Richard Branson and Virgin, with their focus on sustainability, have decided to become a pioneer of this technology. Transforming hot water to electricity will be a major source of energy production going forward,” said founder and CEO of Climeon, Thomas Öström.

The first ship is expected to arrive in PortMiami by 2020, while the second and third ships will be delivered by 2021 and 2022, respectively.

Its first vessel, hosting 2,700 passengers, will set sail on a range of Caribbean itineraries to ports offering “unique and very social experiences”, the company said.

“This is anything but just another cruise or holiday, it will be a transformational experience delivering a very ‘Virgin style’ of adventure,” said Tom McAlpin, the Virgin Group’s president and CEO.

To find out more information about how you can get onboard, click here.