Viking Energy to run on ammonia

August 27, 2024

The platform supply vessel (PSV) of Eidesvik Offshore will become the world's first in-service ship to use ammonia as marine fuel after being equipped with Wärtsilä W25 dual-fuel engine.

Viking Energy is scheduled to start sailing on ammonia as of H1 2026. The 2003-launched PSV will continue working for Equinor, who will financially contribute to the conversion, at least till 2030, following a new five-year contract.

"This conversion is made possible by the support and investment from Equinor. We are very pleased to partner up with a client that shares our ambitious climate targets, on a project that can help kick-start a wider adoption of ammonia across the shipping industry," underscored Gitte Gard Talmo, CEO and President of Eidesvik Offshore.

The retrofit is part of the EU-backed Apollo project, whose partners say Viking Energy's greenhouse gas emissions will go down by as much as 70% (the PSV is now a hybrid, using liquefied natural gas as its primary bunker).

The Apollo project will also prepare different modular designs and concepts for the adoption of ammonia engines for both existing ships and newbuilds. VTT leads the work to scale the learnings from the demonstrator ship to other vessel types. The National Centre for Scientific Research Demokritos is responsible for assessing safety criteria. Breeze Ship Design will deliver the ship design services while Wärtsilä - the complete ammonia solution (engine, fuel gas supply and release mitigation systems, and service agreement).

"The design will be adapted to allow shipowners, ship designers, shipyards, classification agencies, and insurance companies to adopt the Apollo solution into their decision-making processes as early as 2027 […]," the project team shared in a press release.

Additionally, the partners will map the existing supply chain of green ammonia in Europe and stake out the needed bunkering infrastructure to serve marine and inland vessels.

"This will be a real game-changer when it comes to meeting the climate goals for 2030, as it can be adapted to virtually all types of vessels, both on the Norwegian shelf and internationally. The concept's market potential is huge," commented Ada M. Jakobsen, CEO of Maritime CleanTech (a Norwegian cluster that has recently secured €5.0 million from the EU's Horizon Europe programme for the Apollo project).

Talmo added to this, "If we are to succeed in shipping's green transition then close collaboration throughout the value chain is imperative. No one can succeed in isolation. As such, we hope the Apollo project can work as an example of how to embrace and build strong partnerships, working together to achieve collective aims."

"In just 25 years - the lifetime of a single vessel - shipping needs to get to net-zero emissions. Achieving this will require coordinated action by all maritime industry stakeholders to bring about the system change needed to accept a new generation of sustainable fuels. With this new contract, together with Eidesvik, Wärtsilä is proud to be at the forefront of this movement. Decarbonisation is front and centre of our strategy and we are committed to developing and delivering sustainable solutions which not only ensure the viability of sustainable fuels but also their safety," Håkan Agnevall, President and CEO of Wärtsilä, said.

Photo: Apollo project

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