What is said to be the world’s first electric autonomous container vessel, ‘Yara Birkeland’, has been christened near the Yara Porsgrunn plant, in the presence of 500 local students and the Crown Prince of Norway, Haakon Magnus.
The emission-free ship was christened by two young godmothers, in a break from tradition, said to represent the future. The ship will transport fertiliser across the Oslofjord from Yara’s Porsgrunn plant to Brevik port and thereby eliminate the carbon emissions of 40,000 diesel truck loads per year.
Crown Prince Haakon Magnus of Norway said: “It takes courage to create something new. It requires investment, patience, and an ability to not give up after the first try. Innovation requires trial and error – and trial and error again – until you succeed. Those of you who have worked at Yara for many years have been involved in this several times before throughout the company’s history.”
Svein Tore Holsether, President and CEO, Yara International, said: “Yara took a bold decision in 2017. We wanted to build the world’s first carbon-free container vessel. Today, five years later, we celebrate the outcome of this ambitious decision. Yara Birkeland is a result of ambition, curiosity, and collaboration where innovation, sustainability and technology come together.”
Yara developed the battery-driven ship in collaboration with several Norwegian partners. Kongsberg Maritime developed and delivered the technology. The ship was built by Vard. Yara Birkeland will be operated by a joint venture undertaken by the Kongsberg Group and Massterly, which is owned by the Wilhelmsen Group. Enova, owned by the Norwegian Ministry of Climate and Environment, has contributed financially (NOK 133.5 million) to the development of Yara Birkeland.
The ship is named after Kristian Birkeland, a leading Norwegian scientist in the early 1900s who is one of the founding fathers of the technology employed by Yara, extracting nitrogen from air to produce fertiliser.
