World’s first fully emissions-free box ship begins operation

Now begins a two-year testing period of the technology that will make the ship self-propelled, and finally certified as an autonomous, all-electric container ship.

The ship will be operated from Maasterlys’ monitoring and operation’s center in Horten. Massterly is a joint venture between Kongsberg and Wilhelmsen.

In parallel with the construction of Yara Birkeland, Yara has initiated the development of green ammonia as an emission-free fuel for shipping, through the newly started Yara Clean Ammonia programme.

“Renewable energy was our starting point in 1905. Now, ammonia can bring us back to our roots. Our large shipping network and existing infrastructure means that ammonia has the potential to become the leading fuel for long-distance shipping globally,” said Yara Clean Ammonia CEO Magnus Krogh Ankarstrand.

As the world’s largest producer of fertilisers, Yara relies on ammonia for manufacture, and to help feed an ever-growing population. At the same time, the company says that current ammonia production represents 2% of the world’s fossil energy consumption. This corresponds to about 1.2% of the world’s total greenhouse gas emissions.

"As the world’s largest producer of ammonia, Yara has launched an aggressive plan of international scale, both to remove current emissions and to establish the production of new, clean ammonia," said Mr Ankarstrand.