Yara acquires majority stake in Green Tech Marine

Yara International will expand its emissions control business by acquiring a majority 63% stake in Green Tech Marine (GTM), a leading sulphur oxide (SOX) scrubber supplier to the marine industry. “We are excited to get the GTM team onboard. New International Maritime Organization (IMO) regulations are being implemented, and combining GTM with our existing Nitrogen Oxide (NOX) portfolio will help the maritime industry cleanse their emissions and be compliant,” said Yves Bonte, Senior Vice President and Head of Yara's Industrial Segment.
 
Within the next ten years, ships worldwide will need equipment to comply with the latest IMO exhaust gas emission rules. Starting January 1, 2015, SOX Emission Control Areas will be established in the North Sea, the Baltic Sea, The North American Atlantic Coast and in the Caribbean.
 
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 one billion Euros. GTM, a subsidiary of Marine Global Group, is an independent provider that has developed the smallest footprint SOX scrubber that can be retrofitted into any seagoing vessel.
 
“The synergies we have with Yara on technology development and market reach for maritime business, as well as their global reach, will allow us to take this business a step further and establish ourselves as a leading player in the global market,” said Peter Strandberg, CEO, Green Tech Marine.
 
The GTM investment is Yara's third investment targeting leading technologies on emissions to air. Adding leading technology to Yara's global reach and delivery system positions Yara as a leader in the fast growing emissions control business, now targeting the marine sector.
 
“In combining our existing portfolio of NOX technologies with SOX 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 Bonte.
 
Certified by 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.
 
Sulphur oxides cause a wide variety of health and environmental impacts. With asthma being the largest chronic disease of children in the Western world, authorities are addressing this issue through legislation. 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.