NOK 709 million for emission-free maritime transport

- We want a faster phase-in of zero-emission technology in maritime transport. This applies to both technologies for the use of hydrogen-based energy carriers and special innovative electrification concepts for vessels. Enova supports those who are leading the way and now we want to increase and speed up the development and use of new and innovative technology that enables emission-free maritime transport, says Nils Kristian Nakstad, CEO of Enova.

The vessels receiving support vary from fully electric high-speed passenger boats for the aquaculture industry to container ships powered by ammonia and on to what is probably the world's first ship for carbon capture and storage.

- The world's energy systems must become emission-free if we are to succeed in reaching the goals we have set ourselves in the Paris Agreement. For shipping, this requires us to adopt new technologies and sustainable zero-emission fuels. The projects Enova supports make an important contribution to this. Here the entire breadth is covered from demand, distribution and use of hydrogen and ammonia, development of technology for CO2 capture on board ships, all-electric operation of ships as well as charging facilities for these, says Climate and Environment Minister Espen Barth Eide (Ap).

Carbon capture on board ships

Solvang ASA will carry out a full-scale pilot of CO2 capture on board the gas tanker Clipper Eris. The project is a collaboration between Solvang ASA as shipping company and owner of the ship, Wärtsilä Moss as technology supplier and SINTEF as research institution. The project will use amine cleaning technology to capture 70% of the CO2 in the exhaust gas on the ship, and demonstrate a whole chain for handling CO2 including liquefaction and storage on board the ship. The technology will be piloted on board the vessel over two years while it is in normal commercial operation. If the pilot project is successful, Solvang wishes to install the technology on five ships that have been ordered for delivery in 2026-2027, thereby contributing to the rapid further spread of the technology.

- Carbon capture combined with existing cleaning technology is a significant shortcut to the decarbonisation of the world's deep-sea fleet, and stands out as one of the more promising solutions for the ships of the future. With support from Enova, it is possible to start the pilot project on board the ship and test both technology and value chain, says Edvin Endresen, CEO of Solvang ASA.

Electric sea route from south to north

ASKO Maritime AS is investigating building an all-electric propulsion system in two new identical container ships (ro/ro ships) that will travel on a newly created zero-emission sea route in the extension of the Nordlandsbanen from Bodø to Tromsø with a stop along the way. Today, the goods are transported with trucks that run on fossil fuels. The sea route is intended to be a part of a sustainable transport network that connects Northern Norway and Southern Norway together. The ship must be operated with battery and shore power. In order to get a fully electric sea route, a battery of 25 is planned to be installed MWh, which is significantly larger than battery packs installed in ships in the world today. The ship will have needs for a charging power of 6 MW, and it is planned to build direct current charging facilities in Bodø harbour, Rødskjær harbor (Harstad) and Tromsø harbor with MCS as charging standard.

-ASKO Maritime AS is investigating building two RoCon all-electric vessels and it is too early to say if and when this will be realised, but a decision on whether or not to proceed with the process will be made next year. With support from ENOVA, we are one step closer and the project continues with detailed planning to get the logistics, technical and financial prerequisites in place. The most important thing is that we get goods owners, freight forwarders and transporters on the team to succeed in the conversion to a greener transport chain with rail and sea transport linked together as an important prerequisite. Establishing the sea route will reduce road transport to short distances between ports and destinations, it creates the right conditions for using battery electric cars on road transport provided that charging infrastructure is in place, says Kai Just Olsen, CEO of ASKO Maritime AS.

- This could be the important tipping point in the further development of the New Bodø terminal and green freight corridors in the Arctic. We are now starting to investigate charging for ASKO Maritime's electric vessel for freight transport Bodø-Tromsø. Bodø's strategic location means that we are a multimodal hub where rail, road and aviation meet the sea, says Rakel Hunstad, general manager of Fjuel Bodø AS.

Fully electric high-speed passenger boat

Enova is also providing NOK 7.3 m in support to Moen Marin, which will build a fully electric high-speed passenger boat for the aquaculture industry. Under real operating conditions, Moen Marin will develop, build and demonstrate an emission-free boat for personnel transport, with Pascal Technologies' innovative hull solution and fully electric powertrain. Pascal Technologies' hull solution is based on the air cushion principle. This works by a fan pressurizing a defined area in the vessel's hull, which is thus lifted out of the water to reduce hull resistance. Compared to a conventional hull, this provides 30-50% less energy consumption at high speeds, which enables the full electrification of smaller, fast-moving vessels.

Two hydrogen-powered container ships

Viasea Shipping AS receives a total of NOK 171.8 m in support to acquire two hydrogen-powered container ships. The ships will use a combination of hydrogen combustion engine, diesel electric engine, battery pack and rotor sail. In addition, a number of energy efficiency measures will reduce the energy requirement by more than 30% to reduce the total fuel requirement. When completed in 2026, the ships will be used in Viasea's existing route between Norway and Northern Europe. The size of the ships and the distance of the route mean that one load of hydrogen will not last the entire round trip. When hydrogen becomes available elsewhere along the route, the ships will be able to operate only with hydrogen. With hydrogen and diesel operation, the ship will have 76% lower CO2 emissions than a corresponding diesel-powered ship. With 100% hydrogen operation, the ship will operate emission-free.

Two vessels and bunkering solution

Two other projects receive support this round; North Sea Container Line, together with Yara Clean Ammonia, will build a container ship powered by ammonia with a battery pack of 250 kWh and the option of shore power.

The shipping company Viridis Bulk Carriers AS is to acquire two new cargo ships with a deadweight capacity of 4,700 tonnes. The ships are identical and will be operated with ammonia. The vessels will be used in a logistics system for bulk transport that has been developed in the Pilot-E project "FlexBulk - NH3 Power" together with, among others, eight cargo owners. The ships are scheduled to be in operation from the end of 2025.

The projects will use an associated bunkering solution for ammonia, developed by Azane Fuel Solutions in collaboration with Yara Clean Ammonia, which has also received Enova support. The bunkering unit will be part of a planned bunkering infrastructure network that will be necessary for shipowners and cargo owners to be able to choose ammonia as fuel.

"The grants from Enova enable us to start realizing our plans for Viridis Bulk Carriers and Azane Fuel Solutions - build a fleet of ammonia-powered bulk carriers to decarbonise European short-sea shipping with an associated bunkering network," says André Risholm, Co-founder and board member of Viridis Bulk Carriers and Azane Fuel Solutions.

- We are grateful for the support Enova gives to the projects we develop with our partners. The funds take us one step closer to realizing the projects and to developing an emission-free maritime sector, says Magnus Krogh Ankarstrand, President of Yara Clean Ammonia.