Fertilizer company Yara is to build the world’s first autonomous, all-electric vessel for commercial operation. The company works with Kongsberg to realize the container feeder vessel, operation is planned to start in 2018.
»Yara Birkeland« is intended to start operation in late [ds_preview]2018, shipping products from Yara’s Porsgrunn production plant to Brevik and Larvik in Norway, and will initially operate as a manned vessel. It will then move to remote operation in 2019 and is expected to be capable of performing fully autonomous operations from 2020. The new zero-emission vessel will be a game-changer for global maritime transport contributing to meet the UN sustainability goals, Yara believes.
Kongsberg is responsible for development and delivery of all key enabling technologies on »Yara Birkeland« including the sensors and integration required for remote and autonomous operations, in addition to the electric drive, battery and propulsion control systems.
»By moving container transport from land to sea, ›Yara Birkeland‹ is the start of a major contribution to fulfilling national and international environmental impact goals. The new concept is also a giant step forward towards increased seaborne transportation in general,« says Geir Håøy, President and CEO of Kongsberg.
Kongsberg’s integrated control and monitoring systems are already capable of providing technology for remote and unmanned operations, the company says.
Moving container transport from land to sea
Named »Yara Birkeland« after Yara’s founder, the scientist and innovator Kristian Birkeland, the vessel will be the world’s first fully electric container feeder. Yara’s new vessel will reduce NOx and CO2 emissions and improve road safety by removing up to 40,000 truck journeys in populated urban areas.
»With Yara Birkeland we move transport from road to sea and thereby reduce noise and dust, improve the safety of local roads, and reduce NOx and CO2 emissions,«, says Svein Tore Holsether, President and CEO of Yara
»As a leading global fertilizer company with a mission to feed the world and protect the planet, investing in this zero emission vessel to transport our crop nutrition solutions fits our strategy well. We are proud to work with Kongsberg to realize the world’s first autonomous, all-electric vessel to enter commercial operation,« says Holsether.
He adds: »Every day, more than 100 diesel truck journeys are needed to transport products from Yara’s Porsgrunn plant to ports in Brevik and Larvik where we ship products to customers around the world. With this new autonomous battery-driven container vessel we move transport from road to sea and thereby reduce noise and dust emissions, improve the safety of local roads, and reduce NOx and CO2 emissions.«
