Yara is a major producer of fertiliser. In 2022, it had annual sales of over $24 billion. Europe and Brazil are particularly important markets, and this is where nearly 60% of sales are made. The main raw material is natural gas, and this is mainly used to produce ammonia. Raw material and energy costs account for three quarters of sales.

The vessel Yara Birkeland is the first all-electric powered autonomous vessel transporting fertiliser in containers. FiFi4Marine mounted a 900L system protecting 6.8MWh of batteries.
It was built by Norwegian shipbuilder Vard. Both all operations at the loading port, during the voyage and at the discharge port are automatic.

The Yara Birkeland is 79.7 metres long, 14.8 metres wide and has a depth of 10.8 metres. The vessel's draft on its summer cargo mark is 6 metres. It is propelled by electric motors driving two rudder propellers and two bow thrusters. Four rooms in the ship with batteries from Swiss company LeClanchè with a capacity of 6.7 MWh power the electric motors. This gives the ship an optimum speed of 6 knots (11 km/h) and a maximum speed of 15 knots (28 km/h). The cargo capacity is 3,200 tonnes.[4] The vessel has a capacity of 120 TEU, i.e. 120 standard 20-foot containers.

FIFI4MARINE has fitted a 900L extinguishing system that protects 6.8MWh of batteries. In case of a thermal runaway of the Lithium Ion batteries, the battery fire is quickly extinguished. This is a safe thought on a ship which is fully loaded with containers of fertiliser. Quickly extinguishing only those batteries subject to the fire not only ensures that the other batteries do not also go into thermal runaway. It also ensures that the ship can proceed autonomously. to its destination.

More information on this project can be seen at the video clip on YouTube