Wärtsilä ammonia engine to power the Viking Energy

Wärtsilä 25, exhaust after-treatment and safety systems to be installed

In a new partnership with shipowner Eidesvik, Wärtsilä has been contracted to supply the total technology package for the conversion of the Viking Energy to run on ammonia fuel. Equinor will charter the vessel to provide support to its offshore platforms in Norway, and will contribute financing for the conversion costs. Wärtsilä will supply the Wärtsilä 25 ammonia engine, Wärtsilä will supply the complete ammonia solution, including its AmmoniaPac Fuel Gas Supply System, the Wärtsilä Ammonia Release Mitigation System (WARMS), and a selective catalytic reduction system designed for ammonia-fueled vessels.

The Viking Energy will become the first vessel to use Wärtsilä’s newly-released “ammonia solution” package. Wärtsilä is also supplying similar systems onboard EXMAR’s ammonia-fueled mid-sized gas carriers currently being built in South Korea. The Viking Energy is scheduled for conversion in early 2026, and operations shortly thereafter. The ship was the world’s first LNG-powered platform supply vessel when it entered operations in 2003.

In just 25 years – the lifetime of a single vessel – shipping needs to get to net zero emissions. Achieving this will require coordinated action by all maritime industry stakeholders to bring about the system change needed to accept a new generation of sustainable fuels.

With this new contract, together with Eidesvik, Wärtsilä is proud to be at the forefront of this movement. Decarbonisation is front and centre of our strategy and we are committed to developing and delivering sustainable solutions which not only ensure the viability of sustainable fuels, but also their safety.

Håkan Agnevall, President and CEO of Wärtsilä in his organisation’s official press release, 26 Aug 2024

The partnership is part of the larger Apollo project, which is co-funded by the Horizon Europe framework programme.

ShipFC partners pivot

The original plan for the Viking Energy was to retrofit the vessel with a 2 MW solid oxide fuel cell system fed directly by ammonia fuel. Supply chain and development delays with the SOFC system meant that project partners Eidesvik, Equinor, Wärtsilä and Maritime CleanTech have had to pivot, with the main propulsion drive now to be provided by the Wärtsilä 25 ammonia engine. SOFC developer Alma Clean Power will continue its work on the ammonia-fed SOFC technology, and recently announced that a 100 kW, modular system is now undergoing commercial testing. Via the “Clean Ammonia Power” project, Alma’s SOFC technology will still play some role onboard the vessel, and Alma aims to have the scalable technology commercially ready for shipowners to apply it for power on new and existing vessels.