Rhys BerryHöegh Autoliners has entered into a partnership with Norwegian North Ammonia for the supply and use of green ammonia.
The fuel is intended to be used by the company’s LNG-fuelled, ammonia-ready dual-fuel Aurora class ships, Höegh Autoliners said today (11 May). The company expects the delivery of two vessels every six months starting from the second half of 2024.
Norwegian Höegh Autoliners says securing the supply and delivery of green ammonia from North Ammonia’s planned production facility in Arendal in southern Norway will help the company source green ammonia ‘safely, efficiently, and cost-competitively as a first mover’.
‘We are proud to partner with an ambitious Norwegian green ammonia supplier to transition towards a more sustainable future,’ said Höegh Autoliners’ CEO, Andreas Enger. ‘This collaboration will not only reduce our environmental impact and carbon footprint. It will also set a new standard for the industry as a whole and assist our partners and customers in decarbonising their supply chain.’
Enger continued: ‘We are receiving positive feedback and strong signals from major car manufacturers in Europe about enabling lower-emission transport of cars from the manufacturing site to the customers. We are excited to be at the forefront of the movement towards a greener, more sustainable future for all.’
Sebjørn Dahl, COO of Höegh Autoliners, added: ‘The fact that green ammonia is becoming a totally viable maritime fuel is a game-changer for our industry. We believe it will set the standard for others to follow.
‘I thought this development would be achievable in 10 years’ time. But technology is moving faster than expected and the future is here.
‘This partnership will ensure that we and our Norwegian industry suppliers will be well-positioned for seizing that very future. With this partnership we are adding yet another steppingstone in designing the infrastructure of the future – with a green and sustainable focus,’ Dahl added.
North Ammonia was established by Grieg Maritime Group and Arendals Fossekompani in 2021 with the aim of making green ammonia available at large scale as well as becoming Norway’s number one green energy provider for the maritime sector.
‘We are proud to support Höegh Autoliners’ ambitious sustainability initiative. In the maritime energy transition, we are dependent on first movers such as Höegh and this partnership demonstrates the growing demand for green ammonia in deep-sea shipping,’ said CEO of North Ammonia, Vidar Lundberg. ‘As an infrastructure developer, we hope that this collaboration will inspire other companies in the industry to develop and order environmentally friendly vessels.’
Speaking to ship.energy in Oslo in March, Enger said Höegh Autoliners would like to add a further four Aurora Class vessels with ammonia dual-fuel capability, taking the total number on order to 12.
‘We are talking to customers, we are talking to engine suppliers, we are talking to the yard with the objective of being ready to call the options and then whether we do it or not will be a pure commercial decision that we will make with all the information that we have available and that will include a number of other things – but we want to be ready for it,’ Enger said.
Image: Shutterstock
Tom Barlow-Brown
