Höegh Autoliners and Yara Clean Ammonia partner to cut maritime emissions

In May 2023, the two companies signed a Letter of Intent to partner around the supply, potential distribution, and delivery for consumption of clean ammonia for the Höegh Autoliners’ new Aurora-Class PCTC vessels. The twelve Aurora Class vessels will be the world's largest and most environmentally friendly car carriers ever built, equipped to operate on zero-carbon ammonia and methanol.  

The partnership follows separate initiatives in both companies in two important parts of the value chain, namely supply and demand. 

"This is exactly the type of collaboration that will accelerate a push towards net zero shipping in the deep-sea segment of the industry. For Höegh Autoliners, this represents another step towards full decarbonization of our customers' supply chains, and we are pleased to collaborate with a strong Norwegian global player to meet this goal," says Andreas Enger, CEO of Höegh Autoliners.

Both companies consider clean ammonia, produced either with renewable energy or from natural gas with CCS, as a future maritime fuel with high potential that will contribute to solving the greenhouse gas emission challenges associated with global maritime transportation. As part of the Letter of Intent, the companies will also consider the supply of blue ammonia where up till 95% of the CO2-emissions are captured and permanently stored.

Zero emissions for international shipping by 2050

Norway has set ambitious targets for cutting emissions from domestic shipping by 50 % by 2030. In July this year, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) adopted a historic ambition of zero emissions for international shipping by 2050. Clean ammonia is a solution that can contribute to reducing the world’s dependency on fossil fuels.  

"Being the world’s largest ammonia distributor, Yara Clean Ammonia will be a significant contributor on the path towards zero emissions in the maritime sector. We aim at significantly strengthening our leading global position, unlock the green and blue value chains, and driving the development of clean ammonia globally. Building on Yara’s leading experience within global ammonia production, logistics and trade, Yara Clean Ammonia works towards capturing growth opportunities in net-zero fuel for shipping," says Magnus Krogh Ankarstrand, President of Yara Clean Ammonia.

Members of the First Movers Coalition join forces

Höegh Autoliners and Yara are both members of the First Movers Coalition, a World Economic Forum-backed initiative focused on reducing emissions in the ‘hard-to-abate’ sectors.  

The First Movers Coalition was launched during COP-26 in Glasgow in November 2021 and was initiated by the US State Department, through Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry, and the World Economic Forum. 

Höegh Autoliners has committed, through its membership in the First Movers Coalition, to powering at least 5% of its deep-sea operations with green ammonia by 2030. The goal is to run its fleet on at least 100,000 metric tons of green ammonia by that same year. 

Yara International is one of the founding members of the First Movers Coalition (FMC). Yara has already cut emissions by more than 50% since 2005 and is targeting a further 30% emission cut by 2030. Yara is aiming at climate neutrality in 2050. Yara Clean Ammonia has committed to supply clean ammonia to be used either as fossil-free shipping fuel, decarbonized fertilizers or as a hydrogen carrier. 

Aurora class vessels 

With the future of cargo and zero carbon fuels in mind, the Aurora Class vessel is designed for a greener future. Höegh Autoliners is accelerating its decarbonization efforts by building the most environmentally friendly car carrier ever built. The launch of the design of the Aurora Class vessels and the signing of contracts for the delivery of the first twelve Auroras, with the delivery of two every six months starting from H2 of 2024, is another decisive step on Höegh Autoliner's path to zero. The Auroras will be the first in the PCTC segment to receive DNV’s ammonia and methanol-ready notations with the main engine provided by MAN and the bridge system supplied by Kongsberg Maritime. 

The world’s largest trader and distributer of clean ammonia  

Yara has been producing ammonia for almost a century and has extensive experience to ensure that production, storage and bunkering of ammonia goes without negative impact to crew or environment.  

"Yara Clean Ammonia does not compete on safety, and working with partners with the same ambitions regarding safety is a priority. Together with Azane Fuel Solution we’re developing the world’s first bunkering and distribution network for clean ammonia to supply ships with a net-zero fuel. We already have a global distribution network for ammonia and we’re working closely with port authorities worldwide to make the bunkering of clean ammonia available for deep-sea shipping," says Magnus Krogh Ankarstrand, President of Yara Clean Ammonia.

Yara Clean Ammonia is the world’s largest trader and distributer of ammonia. Currently two world scale ammonia plants are being developed in the US where up to 95% of the CO2 emissions will be captured and permanently stored. Two green ammonia pilot projects are under construction and renewable energy is used to produce fossil-free ammonia. In addition, Yara Clean Ammonia has several off-take agreements on green ammonia.

About Höegh Autoliners  

Höegh Autoliners is a leading global provider of ocean transportation services within the Roll-on Roll-off (RoRo) segment. The company operates a global network of deep-sea trades with Pure Car and Truck Carrier (PCTC) vessels. Höegh Autoliners offers customers safe and secure deep sea transportation of RoRo cargo such as cars, high and heavy machinery and breakbulk. Each year, the company transports around two million car equivalent units (ceu) as well as other rolling and static cargo.

About Yara Clean Ammonia  

Yara grows knowledge to responsibly feed the world and protect the planet. Yara Clean Ammonia is uniquely positioned to enable the hydrogen economy in a market expected to grow substantially over the next decades. We aim at significantly strengthening our leading global position as the world’s largest ammonia distributor, unlocking the green and blue value chains, and driving the development of clean ammonia globally. 

Building on Yara’s leading experience within global ammonia production, logistics and trade, Yara Clean Ammonia works towards capturing growth opportunities in low-emission fuel for shipping and power, carbon-free food production and ammonia for industrial applications. 

Yara Clean Ammonia operates the largest global ammonia network with 15 ships and has, through Yara, access to 18 ammonia terminals and multiple ammonia production and consumption sites across the world. Revenues and EBITDA for the full year 2022 were USD 4,422 million and USD 249 million respectively. Yara Clean Ammonia is headquartered in Oslo, Norway www.yaracleanammonia.com