Norwegian and Finnish Companies to Run Vessel on Ammonia by 2026

Norwegian shipowner Eidesvik and Wärtsilä, a Finland-based engine manufacturer, have signed a contract to make a platform supply vessel (PSV) that can run on ammonia fuel.

Wärtsilä — the company supplying the equipment to convert the ship — said the Viking Energy vessel will be the first in the world to run on ammonia.

“Together with Equinor, we are now launching a full-scale research project to test a propulsion solution based on fuel cells running on pure and emission-free ammonia. The goal is to install fuel cell modules with a total power of 2 MW on board Viking Energy in 2024. This will make the vessel the world’s first emission-free supply vessel,” said CEO of Eidesvik Offshore Jan Fredrik Meling, in a press release from Eidesvik.

The shipping industry has been exploring several alternative fuels, including ammonia, to reduce carbon emissions, reported Reuters.

Norway’s Equinor is also financing the ship’s conversion to ammonia — a fuel that doesn’t produce greenhouse gases — in early 2026 and is projected to begin operating on ammonia by mid-year.

Wärtsilä made its first engine that runs on ammonia available for orders in the fourth quarter of last year. The company told Reuters that the new technology could help reduce greenhouse gas emissions by over 70 percent in comparison with similar diesel-based fuels.

“It was not Apollo 1 that landed on the moon, it was Apollo 11. A long-term development program was behind that achievement, and the same goes for us,” Meling said.

For the future of the shipping industry, ammonia and hydrogen are considered the two major zero emissions fuel possibilities, the press release said. Ammonia is believed by many to be the best choice for longer voyages, like supply routes through the North Sea, where ships must have large amounts of fuel with them.

“In the industry, ammonia is reckoned a major part of the solution to reduce the climate footprint from offshore traffic and other shipping segments. We also share that view,” said Vermund Hjelland, Eidesvik Offshore’s vice president of technology and development, in the press release.

Viking Energy’s ammonia research has a budget of $94,818.50, much of which was funded by the European Union.

“As part of the testing, the vessel will use ammonia in transit between harbour and offshore installations for one year. In addition, we envisage that ammonia will be used to power the vessel when alongside quay. Our ambition is that 60 to 70 percent of the energy consumption will come from ammonia during the test period. In addition, we want to demonstrate that the technology can supply up to 90 per cent of the total power demand,” Hjelland explained, adding that the remaining onboard energy consumption would be powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG), which Viking Energy has been using as its main fuel since 2003.

Viking Energy was the first supply vessel in the world to be powered by LNG, as well as the first hybrid supply vessel to have the “battery power” class notation from international registrar Det Norske Veritas (DNV, formerly DNV GL).

“The ammonia project on Viking Energy would not have been possible without the research and testing we have done previously, nor without the commitment and efforts of our sailors. The Fellowship project on board ‘Viking Lady’ from 2009 to 2015 is one of the pillars,” Hjelland said. “There we tested both fuel cell technology and battery pack, along with Wärtsilä and DNVGL. Technology which then was at the research stage has now become a ‘shelf item,’ and today several oil companies are demanding battery packs in their tenders. We are happy and proud to have contributed to making new solutions available for everyone – much to the benefit of a more energy efficient and environmentally friendly shipping industry.”