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VIRIDIS BULK CARRIERS RECEIVES NOK 152 MILLION INVESTMENT GRANT FROM ENOVA

September 26th, 2023 – Farsund, Norway

Enova SF, a Norwegian government agency, has granted Viridis Bulk Carriers financial support of NOK 152 million to help finance the construction of two ammonia-powered bulk carriers

Espen Barth Eide, the Norwegian Minister for Environment and Climate, announced the award in a press conference in Oslo this morning.

In a related press release from Enova, Barth Eide states:

  • “The world’s energy systems must become emission-free if we are to succeed in reaching the goals we have set ourselves in the Paris Agreement. For shipping, this requires us to adopt new technologies and sustainable zero-emission fuels. The projects that Enova supports make an important contribution to this. Here, the entire breadth is covered from demand, distribution and use of hydrogen and ammonia, development of technology for CO2 capture on board ships, all-electric operation of ships as well as charging facilities for these”.

The investment grant is an important and necessary step to realize the carbon free transportation system including ships, cargo and bunkering that Viridis Bulk Carriers and its ecosystem of partners have developed for the past three years. The Viridis vessels which are designed to support charterers cargo capacity needs, have similar sailing range as the current fleet of short sea bulk vessels, and to maintain the crew and societal safety at the level of conventional vessels. Viridis Bulk Carriers expect to place orders for ships around year end 2023, with deliveries starting in 2025.

  • “The ENOVA grant enables construction of these highly innovative vessels, which we expect will be amongst the very first ships to kickstart the ammonia-powered green shift in shipping,” says André Risholm, Co-founder and board member at Viridis Bulk Carriers.

Collaboration with client partners & key suppliers

The Viridis vessels have been designed with the customer in focus and close collaboration with client partners and key suppliers. The company has collaborated with the eight charterers in the ‘Flexbulk NH3 Ammonia Power’ consortium project to ensure that cargo capacities and operational capabilities are just as future-proof as the power technology and emissions reductions. The vessel design is by Kongsberg Maritime, one of the world’s premier marine technology groups and the leading ship designers.

  • “This is a key milestone in our long-term commitment to decarbonize the short sea bulk market together with forward-thinking clients and leading technology makers,“ says Espen Nordstrøm, Co-founder and board member at Viridis Bulk Carriers.

Ammonia-powered ships and fuel infrastructure being developed in parallel

Solving the chicken-and-egg dilemma of new ships and new bunkering infrastructure has been a key challenge that the partners around Viridis Bulk Carriers have been working to solve. Together with Yara Clean Ammonia, Azane Fuel Solutions and other partners in the “Ammonia fuel bunkering network” project, Viridis is making sure that ammonia fuel will be available by the time the vessels start operations.

  • “We are building a new fuel value chain by leveraging partnerships from production to bunkering to providing an ammonia-powered shipping service. We solve the “chicken-and-egg” dilemma by having them both appear at the same time,” says Peder N. Jarlsby, Board member at Viridis Bulk Carriers.

Viridis Bulk Carriers AS | Barbros gate 14, 4550 Farsund, Norway

www.viridisbulkcarriers.com

 

Viridis Bulk Carriers is a joint venture between Navigare Logistics, Amon Maritime and Mosvolds Rederi. The joint venture will develop, build and operate ammonia-powered bulk carriers, drawing on the expertise, networks and capabilities of each of the partners.

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Navigare Logistics is part of the Navigare group, founded in 1966. The company owns, operates and manages 14 short-sea bulk carriers, and are providers of complete logistical solutions for the maritime industry.

 

Amon Maritime are zero emission ship project specialists, focused on ammonia fuel. Established in 2019 by founders with strong backgrounds from complex ship newbuilding projects from idea to operations, expert knowledge of gas engines, fuel supply, zero emission solutions and innovative ship designs.

 

Mosvolds Rederi has a proud maritime history, established in 1910. Today, the company holds direct ownership in 17 deepsea ships and are co-owners of Njord Shipping and Amon Maritime. The company is part of Glastad Holding, a large, family-owned investment company.