From the KONGSBERG press release:
YARA and KONGSBERG enter into partnership to build world's first autonomous and zero emissions ship
9. May 2017
- YARA will reduce diesel-powered truck haulage by 40,000 journeys a year.
- KONGSBERG will integrate sensor, control, communication and electrical systems.
The vessel "YARA Birkeland" will be the world's first fully electric and autonomous container ship, with zero emissions. Operation is planned to start in the latter half of 2018, shipping products from YARA's Porsgrunn production plant to Brevik and Larvik in Norway.Named "YARA Birkeland" after YARA's founder, the famous scientist and innovator Kristian Birkeland, the vessel will be the world's first fully electric container feeder. YARA's new vessel will reduce NOx and CO2 emissions and improve road safety by removing up to 40,000 truck journeys in populated urban areas.
YARA Birkeland will initially operate as a manned vessel, moving to remote operation in 2019 and expected to be capable of performing fully autonomous operations from 2020. The new zero-emission vessel will be a game-changer for global maritime transport contributing to meet the UN sustainability goals.
World's first autonomous, all-electric vessel for commercial operation
"As a leading global fertilizer company with a mission to feed the world and protect the planet, investing in this zero emission vessel to transport our crop nutrition solutions fits our strategy well. We are proud to work with KONGSBERG to realize the world's first autonomous, all-electric vessel to enter commercial operation," says Svein Tore Holsether, President and CEO of YARA.
"Every day, more than 100 diesel truck journeys are needed to transport products from YARA's Porsgrunn plant to ports in Brevik and Larvik where we ship products to customers around the world. With this new autonomous battery-driven container vessel we move transport from road to sea and thereby reduce noise and dust emissions, improve the safety of local roads, and reduce NOx and CO2 emissions," says Holsether.......MORE, including video
HT: GE Reports
Next month Norway's going to party:
In June 2017 we will celebrate the 150th anniversary of Yara’s founder Kristian Birkeland. The Birkeland Anniversary event will take place in Oslo, Norway.
One of the previous Birkeland posts:
"New Research on Northern Lights Will Improve Satellite Navigation Accuracy"
Ha! Birkeland smiles.
He should have been awarded a couple Nobel prizes.*
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*Here's the Nobelprize.org Nomination Database:
Kristian Birkeland
Lastname/org: Birkeland
Firstname: Kristian
Gender: M
Year, Birth: 1867
Nominee in 13 nominations:
- Physics 1915 by Vilhelm Carlheim-Gyllensköld
- Physics 1916 by Vilhelm Carlheim-Gyllensköld
- Physics 1916 by Otto Pettersson
- Physics 1917 by Vilhelm Carlheim-Gyllensköld
- Chemistry 1907 by Max Bamberger
- Chemistry 1909 by Waldemar Brögger
- Chemistry 1909 by Heinrich Goldschmidt
- Chemistry 1909 by Thorstein Hiortdahl
- Chemistry 1909 by Johan Vogt
- Chemistry 1912 by
- Chemistry 1913 by Waldemar Brögger
- Chemistry 1913 by Heinrich Goldschmidt
- Chemistry 1913 by Thorstein Hiortdahl
And here's the introduction to the Plasma Universe entry on Birkeland:
Kristian Olaf Bernhard Birkeland (13 December 1867 - 15 June 1917) was a Norwegian scientist who has been called "the first space scientist"[1] and "the father of plasma experiments in the laboratory and space"[2] [3] [4]. He is perhaps most well-known for his scientific work on the aurora using a terrella (a magnetized globe), and as inventor of an electromagnetic cannon, and, a method of electrically producing artificial fertilizer. He also became a full professor of physics at the University of Oslo at the age of 31....MUCH MORE
Birkeland also had astrophysical research published on cathode rays,[5] the Zodiacal lights,[6] comets,[7] the Sun and sunspots,[8] the origin of planets and their satellites,[9] the Earth's magnetism.[10]
Some of Birkeland's other contributions to science included:[2] • Derived the general expression for the Poynting vector • Gave the first general solution to Maxwell's equations [11] • Pioneered the field of charged-particle beams • Utilized the concept of "longitudinal mass" • Constructed the first foil diodes • Pioneered the field of visible-light photography of electrical discharges • Advocated charged-particle propulsion engines for space travel • Created Norsk Hydro's nitrogen-fertilizer industry (the Birkeland-Eyde method for production of potassium nitrate) • Invented an electromagnetic rail gun capable of firing a 10-kg projectile • Established Birkeland's Firearms company • Anticipated cosmic rays (discovered in 1911) with his calculations involving energies of several billion electron volts • Held patents on the electromagnetic cannon,[12] electric blankets, solid margarine, and hearing aids.
In 1969 when field-align currents had been identified in the Earth's atmosphere, they were named in his honor: Birkeland currents.[13]....
He also co-founded Norsk Hydro and got his picture on
The note will become invalid at the end of this year and the old boy will be replaced by a cod and a herring.
