Solstad Offshore partners Wärtsilä to achieve decarbonisation targets

Finnish technology group Wärtsilä will work with shipping company Solstad Offshore to increase fuel efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions from its 90-vessel fleet.

PHOTO: Engine combustion trials using ammonia. Wärtsilä

The Norwegian shipping company aims to halve its fleet's carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 and become carbon neutral by 2050.

Solstad says that since 2009 it has curbed fuel consumption by an average of 20% across its fleet with operational and technical upgrades.

It hopes that it can reduce fuel consumption by another 50% through yet higher fuel efficiency, and retrofitting some its existing vessels to run on alternative fuels like ammonia, hydrogen and methanol.

Newbuilds added to its fleet will be ready to run on zero-emission fuels from the start, Solstad says. It will draw on Wärtsilä's technical knowledge in its efforts towards these goals, adding that Wärtsilä might develop and supply some of the equipment.

Wärtsilä has been rapidly scaling up development of ammonia ship engines, including a combustion engine running on fuel mix with 70% ammonia content.