Yara expands with GTM acquisition

With this acquisition, which is Yara’s third investment in emissions technologies, the company will add emission control to its portfolio and comes at a time when new IMO regulations are being implemented.

Within the next 10 years, ships worldwide will need equipment to comply with the latest IMO exhaust gas emission rules. Starting January 1st 2015, SOx Emission Control Areas will be established in the North Sea, the Baltic Sea, and the North American Atlantic Coast and in the Caribbean.

“In combining our existing portfolio of NO_X technologies with SO_X technologies, as well as with related supply of nitrogen based chemicals and services, we bring a unique total solution to the marine segment. This improves our delivery of a profitable business solution to harmful emissions to air,” said Yves Bonte, senior vice president and head of Yara’s Industrial Segment.

According to the DNV Future Development in Maritime Shipping report, more than 15,000 ships are expected to be equipped with SOx scrubbers by 2020, representing a potential market of roughly €1bn.

Certified by Det Norske Veritas (DNV), the GTM technology is a single stream technology which can be installed on ships instead of silencers. Easy to retrofit, it also benefits from a small physical footprint, and has already been selected by several companies, including Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines and Norwegian Cruise Lines.

By using GTM scrubbers, ship owners can continue to operate on heavy fuel oil instead of more costly marine gas oil, while staying below the strict IMO requirements regarding sulphur emission.