E2A - Yara fights emissions at sea

This is the second part of a three-part interview with Stefano Bartoletti, Yara’s Technical & Innovation Manager for Industrial Solutions, about the company’s emission to air (E2A) innovation platform. Read Part 1 and learn more about NOx and SOx.

Why is emission abatement at sea important?

Air pollution from maritime transportation is one of the major global environmental concerns today. It is high both on the global, as well as the European agenda. The impact of emissions from vessels are becoming increasingly evident in coastal and port areas. Stringent measures have been adopted by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in relation to SOx and NOx emissions. More legislation will follow. We want to be ahead of the curve.

Yara has expanded its E2A marine activities, what are some recent milestones?

Yara has over the past years expanded its emissions to air (E2A) portfolio through a combination of innovation projects and acquisitions. In January 2014, we took over 100% ownership of and integrated Yarwil into Yara’s E2A portfolio, an entity that used to be a joint venture with Norwegian shipowner Wilhelmsen. Later that same year we acquired H+H Umwelt und Industrietechnik, the market leader in NOx reduction technology in the maritime sector. We also took a majority stake in Green Tech Marine -- renamed Yara Marine Technologies. In total we invested NOK 300 million in mergers and acquisitions.

How will the recent investments benefit Yara?

The acquisitions of H+H and Green Tech Marine enabled Yara to become a total solution provider for both NOx and SOx emissions at sea. They provide Yara with technology uniqueness. H+H is the market leader in marine NOx reduction technology, while Yara Marine Technologies (formerly Green Tech Marine) has developed an innovative high-performance and energy-saving solution for reducing the SOx emissions in the maritime and offshore industries. The smallest scrubber in the market make it easy to retrofit any seagoing vessel by simply replacing ship’s exhaust silencer without the need of structural modifications. As a consequence the installation and commissioning of the scrubber can even be done while sailing.

Why do shipyards and vessel owners chose Yara?

The marine sector is beginning to realize that exhaust gas cleaning systems are the most economical solution for meeting emissions requirements. Yara’s technology allows ship owners to continue operating on heavy fuel oil instead of more costly marine gas oil, still complying with the strict requirements regarding SOx emissions. Yara’s technology is fully customized.

What sort of ships use Yara’s emission control technology?

Customers range from owners of Cruise ships, Cargo vessels, ferries, to icebreakers and oil tankers. For example: Norwegian Cruise Lines and Hyundai Mipo Shipyard use Yara Marine Technology SOx scrubbers. There are currently more than 500 seagoing ships equipped with Yara’s NOx and/or SOx emission control technology.

What about Yara’s own ships?

Yara is taking steps to improve on our internal emissions and a good example for that is our new ammonia ships, which will be equipped with our emissions control technology.

The first part of this interview was featured on 9 February. The third part of this interview will be published soon. Stay tuned!