News / December 18 2020
With government support worth 46,3 million NOK, a Norwegian partnership aims to build the world’s first green ammonia fueled tanker – to ship green ammonia.
Friday the 18th of December, the Norwegian funding scheme Pilot-E confirmed they will support the MS Green Ammonia project with 46,3 million NOK. Grieg Edge and Wärtsilä Norway are jointly running the project to launch the GHG emission-free tanker in 2024.
Grieg Star Group established Grieg Edge as its innovation hub one year ago. The MS Green Ammonia project is it’s first big venture. The project is a result of a Nordic industrial collaboration group initiated by Zeeds (Zero Emission Energy Distribution at Sea).
“We regard the funding from Pilot-E as a valuable stamp of approval for our plans. Both Wärtsilä and we feel confident that this project represents the future for the maritime sector. To have the support from the Norwegian Research Council and Innovation Norway is a significant step towards completion,” Head of Grieg Edge, Nicolai Grieg says.
“This year’s grants show that the Norwegian maritime industry is really at the forefront of developing emission-free solutions with great export potential. This is another great example of how we create new green industry and growth in Norway,” says Minister of Trade and Industry Iselin Nybø in a press release by Pilot-E.
The partners plan to have MS Green Ammonia distribute green ammonia from the planned factory in Berlevåg to various locations and end-users along the coast. Concrete design, size, and volume are all elements that are dependant on the market and end-users. However, the project has already established LOIs with several heavyweight industrial partners.
“We see a strong interest from owners of ferries, offshore supply ships, fishing vessels, and from energy-producing companies. In total, they require an amount of energy surpassing what we can achieve in this project. The market is there without a doubt,” says Chief Business Development Officer in Grieg Star Group, Vidar Lundberg.
One prominent group of potential customers are owners of ships using LNG as a fuel today. Depending on the engine’s build, they may mix ammonia in their LNG fuel – or easily retrofit to use only ammonia.
“Norway, with its high number of vessels using LNG or alternative fuels, with high volumes of green energy, and the cheapest electrical power in Europe, is probably the perfect arena for the world’s first market for green ammonia,” Lundberg says.
“We are in the midst of a transition to low carbon shipping, and the long traditions we have in Norway for cross-industry corporation is vital for a successful implementation of a new green value chain. Trough fruitful collaboration Wärtsilä has earlier been part of the implementation of LNG and hybrid systems, and fuel cells, and are excited to contribute to this important demonstration project of green ammonia together with a forward-leaning ship owner as Grieg Edge and the other collaborating partners”, says Cato Esperø, Head of sales Wärtsilä Norway.
With MS Green Ammonia, Grieg Edge delivers a vital step on its first project. CEO of Grieg Star Group, Matt Duke says:
“I am proud to see Grieg Edge selected to deliver on their mandate, exploring new industrial opportunities that drive our society towards a carbon natural future. This work is reliant on excellent partnerships, and we saw a tremendous effect of that throughout the Zeeds initiative, which now will move into a commercial phase.”
Grieg Edge is the innovation hub of Grieg Star Group. In Grieg Edge, we aim to identify and develop new business opportunities within shipping and related maritime segments – always with sustainability as a requirement. We aim to discover, understand and ultimately solve customer problems – alone or together with partners. And we intend to use the most efficient tools to design sustainable solutions for a new tomorrow.
Wärtsilä is a global leader in smart technologies and complete lifecycle solutions for the marine and energy markets. By emphasising sustainable innovation, total efficiency and data analytics, Wärtsilä maximises the environmental and economic performance of the vessels and power plants of its customers. In 2019, Wärtsilä’s net sales totalled EUR 5.2 billion with approximately 19,000 employees. The company has operations in over 200 locations in more than 80 countries around the world. Wärtsilä is listed on Nasdaq Helsinki.
ZEEDS
ZEEDS, Zero Emission Energy Distribution at Sea, is an initiative from five leading Nordic companies; Aker Solutions, Equinor, Grieg Star, DFDS, and Wärtsilä. The initiative aims to explore the fastest routes towards zero emissions shipping. ZEEDS is funded by the Nordic Innovation project called Sea Meets Land.
The PILOT-E scheme is a funding scheme for the Norwegian business sector launched as a collaboration between the Research Council, Innovation Norway and Enova SF. The scheme’s objective is to promote more rapid development and deployment of new, environment-friendly energy technology products and services to help reduce emissions both in Norway and internationally. The scheme offers a close follow-up and effective coordination between the Research Council, Innovation Norway and Enova SF.
