Yara Debuts World's First Autonomous Electric Container Ship

The Yara Birkeland is set to replace lorry haulage.

By Reuters | Updated: 20 November 2021 11:30 IST

Yara Debuts World's First Autonomous Electric Container Ship

The ship will load and offload its cargo, recharge its batteries, and navigate without human involvement

Highlights

Yara Birkeland will cut 1,000 tonnes of carbon emissions per year
Sensors will be able to quickly detect and understand objects like kayaks
It is powered by batteries provided by Swiss Leclanche

The world's first fully electric and self-steering container ship, owned by fertiliser maker Yara, is preparing to navigate Norway's southern coast and play its part in the country's plans to clean-up its industry.

The Yara Birkeland, an 80-metre-long (87 yards) so-called feeder, is set to replace lorry haulage between Yara's plant in Porsgrunn in southern Norway and its export port in Brevik, about 14 km (8.7 miles) away by road, starting next year.

It will cut 1,000 tonnes of carbon emissions per year, equivalent to 40,000 diesel-powered journeys by road, and is expected to be fully autonomous in two years.

Tesla App Coming Back Online After Server Outage, CEO Elon Musk Says

For Yara it means reducing CO2 emissions at its plant in Porsgrunn, one of Norway's single largest sources of CO2, Chief Executive Svein Tore Holsether said.

"Now we have taken this technological leap to show it is possible, and I'm thinking there are so many routes in the world where it is possible to implement the same type of ship," he told Reuters.

Built by Vard Norway, Kongsberg provided key technology including the sensors and integration required for remote and autonomous operations.

Apple's Self-Driving Electric Car Said to Debut in 2025

"This isn't about replacing the sailors, it's replacing the truck drivers," Yara's Jostein Braaten, project manager for the ship, said at the ship's bridge, which will be removed when the vessel is running at full automation.

The ship will load and offload its cargo, recharge its batteries and also navigate without human involvement.

Sensors will be able to quickly detect and understand objects like kayaks in the water so the ship can decide what action to take to avoid hitting anything, Braaten said.

Tesla 2020 California Crash: US NTSB Closes Probe, No Action Taken

The system should be an improvement over having a manual system, he added.

"We've taken away the human element, which today is also the cause of many of the accidents we see," Braaten said.

The ship, which will do two journeys per week to start with, has capacity to ship 120 20-foot containers of fertiliser at a time.

It is powered by batteries provided by Swiss Leclanche packing 7 megawatt hours over eight battery rooms, the equivalent of 100 Tesla cars, Braaten said.

Can PUBG: New State rival BGMI and PUBG Mobile in the battle royale space? We discuss this on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

Affiliate links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details.

Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.

NASA Seeks Ideas for a Nuclear Reactor on the Moon: All You Need to Know

Yara Debuts World's First Autonomous Electric Container Ship

The Yara Birkeland is set to replace lorry haulage.

Related Stories