Norwegian duo plan to debut ammonia-fuelled container ship by 2026

Renewable ammonia producer Yara Clean Ammonia (YCA) and shipping firm NorthSea Container Line (NCL) plan to build an ammonia-powered containership, which will sail between Norway and Germany from 2026.

PHOTO: Concept design of an ammonia-fuelled container ship, Yara Eyde. Yara Clean Ammonia

The vessel, Yara Eyde, is expected to be deployed on the Oslo-Brevik-Hamburg-Bremerhaven trade corridor between Norway and Germany.

“From 2026, Norwegian companies can export their products on a green keel, and trade goods can be imported emission-free into Norway,” YCA said in a joint statement.

"We see there is increasing demand from product owners to reduce emissions. The ship offers competitive and emission-free logistics to all cargo owners in the Oslofjord and the Greenland region," Bente Hetland, managing director at NCL said.

A joint venture between YCA and NCL called NCL Oslofjord will operate Yara Eyde. Meanwhile, Yara Clean Ammonia will develop the bunkering logistics and supply green and blue ammonia to fuel the vessel, it confirmed.

Green ammonia is produced by mixing green hydrogen with airborne nitrogen and emits no carbon dioxide (CO2). On the other hand, grey ammonia is reclassified as blue ammonia when CO2 emitted from its production is captured and stored. The CO2 would otherwise have been released into the atmosphere.

“Ammonia as a fuel does not pollute. When we produce ammonia from renewable energy or with natural gas where up to 95% of the CO2 emissions are captured and stored permanently, pure ammonia will quickly be a good solution for cutting carbon emissions in the maritime sector,” Magnus Krogh Ankarstrand, president at YCA said.

By Konica Bhatt

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