Remember the electric ship I reported on earlier called Yara? The battery-powered ship has departed on its maiden journey.
The Yara Birkeland can operate autonomously and will complete its first rip in the Oslo Fjord. It is equipped with technologies supplied by Kongsberg, including sensors that enable both autonomous and remote operations. It also worked on the battery, propulsion system, and electric drive.
Due to its nature as an electric ship, the Yara does not have a ballast tank, as the battery pack acts as permanent ballast. The ship will also load and discharge automatically. However, other actions that are automatic include the mooring system.
The electric ship has a 7 MWh battery, with two 900 kW Azipull pods and two 700 kW tunnel thrusters, to power the vessel to a top speed of 13 knots. Total cargo capacity is 120 Twenty-foot Equivalent Units (TEU) or 60 40-foot shipping containers.
Using a battery on the Yara Birken will impact the environment positively as it will eliminate pollution that is the equivalent of 40,000 truck trips per year.
The Yara has only started a two-year test run before it is certified as an autonomous, battery-powered ship. It will be supported by three centers that will take over emergency and exception handling, operational monitoring, decision support, etc.
VARD built the Yara with funds from Enova. It will be controlled at Massterlys’ facility in Horten. Massterly is jointly owned by Kongsberg and Wilhelmsen.
Enova, a government-owned entity promoting renewable energy, has set aside about $15 million to build a battery-powered autonomous ship.
Yara is also researching how to use green ammonia in the shipping industry to achieve emission-free operation.
Renewable Brief 