Enova: funding for seven ammonia-fueled vessels to sail in Norway

A new round of Norwegian government funding from December 2024 has awarded a total of $68 million to a series of ammonia-fueled vessel projects. Seven new build, ammonia-fueled vessels are planned to service a variety of routes and functions in Norwegian waters.

Cargo and mail transport: the “new Norbjørn”

Multi Maritime, Wärtsilä and Posten Bring (Norway’s postal service) are partners in a project to construct a replacement vessel for the MS Norbjørn: a freighter that has carried cargo and mail between Tromsø (mainland Norway) and Longyearbyen (Svalbard) for thirty years. The route is critical to provide supplies and communications between the mainland and the Arctic outpost of Svalbard, and the replacement vessel will be a new build powered by ammonia fuel, featuring a Wärtsilä engine.

Platform supply vessels: Eidesvik, Equinor, DOF Group, and Aurora Offshore

The Enova funding also covers five PSV vessels. In conjunction with the new funding, Eidesvik (who are also leading the Viking Energy retrofit project) are working to “secure a long-term contract with sufficient returns” for their planned ammonia-fueled PSV.

Equinor currently has an active tender for low-emission PSV vessels to service its offshore platform network. DOF Group and Aurora Offshore both received Enova funding in pursuit of this tender process. Both DOF and Aurora are developing pairs of identical PSV vessels with dual-fuel engines.

Grieg Maritime: the MS Green Ammonia

And the final vessel to receive funding is Grieg Maritime’s MS Green Ammonia, a project that began in 2021 and has made steady progress ever since. The 5,000 ton capacity MS Green Ammonia will act as an ammonia distribution and bunkering vessel, able to service a variety of customers in Norway. The design includes both ship-to-terminal and ship-to-ship bunkering capabilities, with AiP granted in 2022 by DNV.