World’s First Fully Electric Autonomous Container Vessel, Yara Birkeland, Celebrates 3 Years of Service

 World’s First Fully Electric Autonomous Container Vessel, Yara Birkeland, Celebrates 3 Years of Service

• The Yara Birkeland marked its third year in commercial operation in April
• The vessel has completed more than 250 voyages, replacing 35,000 diesel-powered truck journeys so far
• Autonomous shipping milestones achieved, including supervised Auto-Docking and Auto-Crossing capabilities.
• Leclanché’s Marine Rack System (MRS-2) has proven its reliability, efficiency and safety in large-scale marine propulsion applications

YVERDON-LES-BAINS, Switzerland, 7^th May, 2025 – Leclanché SA, one of the world’s leading energy storage companies, proudly marks the third anniversary of the Yara Birkeland, the world’s first fully electric and autonomous container vessel. Operated by Yara International, a global leader in agricultural products including fertilisers that enhance crop yields sustainability, and powered by Leclanché’s advanced lithium-ion battery technology, the vessel has played a key role in revolutionising maritime transport and setting new industry standards for sustainability and efficiency.

Since its launch in 2021, the Yara Birkeland has demonstrated the potential of zero-emission shipping. The vessel is equipped with Leclanché’s MRS-2 marine rack system, designed to provide safe, reliable, and high-performance energy storage. The 6.8 MWh battery system enables the vessel to operate entirely without fossil fuels, drastically reducing greenhouse gas emissions and cutting operational costs.

Over the past three years, the 80m long Yara Birkeland has completed more than 250 voyages, transporting over 35,000 containers between Yara’s production facility in Porsgrunn and the port of Brevik. The capacity of ship is of 120 Twenty-foot containers. The vessel has also replaced approximately 35,000 diesel-powered truck journeys so far, reducing CO₂ emissions by 1,000 tonnes per year and reducing noise and dust in populated areas thanks to reduced truck traffic. Recently, it has advanced its autonomous operations, successfully executing supervised Auto-Docking and Auto-Crossing functionalities, paving the way for fully autonomous voyages.

“We are proud to be a key enabler of the Yara Birkeland’s success. This unique vessel represents a significant step forward in the decarbonisation of shipping and demonstrates the potential of battery-powered solutions in large-scale marine applications,” said Phil Broad, CEO of E-Mobility at Leclanché. “The achievements of the past three years reinforce the need for continued investment in clean energy technologies.”

“Yara Birkeland is an important contributor to improved environment, both globally and locally. Our project has got fantastic international attention and has been an inspiration for other maritime projects to reduce emissions” Jon Sletten, Project Owner, Yara Birkeland.

The Yara Birkeland continues to serve as a model for sustainable maritime transport, and Leclanché is excited to further support the transition to fully electric shipping. The lessons learned from this pioneering project will shape the future of marine battery technology, influencing regulatory frameworks and encouraging wider adoption across the industry.

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About Leclanché

Leclanché is a world leading provider of low-carbon footprint energy storage solutions based on lithium-ion cell technology. Established in 1909 in Yverdon-les-Bains, Switzerland, Leclanché’s history and heritage is rooted in battery and energy storage innovation. The company’s Swiss culture for precision and quality, together with its production facilities in Germany, make Leclanché the partner of choice for companies seeking the very best in battery performance and who are pioneering positive changes in how energy is produced, distributed and consumed around the world. Leclanché is organised into three business units: energy storage solutions, e-Mobility solutions and specialty battery systems. The company currently employs over 350 people with representative offices in eight countries around the world. Leclanché is listed on the Swiss Stock Exchange (SIX: LECN). SIX Swiss Exchange : ticker symbol LECN | ISIN CH 011 030 311 9

About Yara

Yara's mission is to responsibly feed the world and protect the planet. We pursue a strategy of sustainable value growth through reducing emissions from crop nutrition production and developing low-emission energy solutions. Yara's ambition is focused on growing a nature-positive food future that creates value for our customers, shareholders and society at large and delivers a more sustainable food value chain. To drive the green shift in fertilizer production, shipping, and other energy intensive industries, Yara will produce ammonia with significantly lower emissions. We provide digital tools for precision farming and work closely with partners at all levels of the food value chain to share knowledge and promote more efficient and sustainable solutions. Founded in 1905 to solve the emerging famine in Europe, Yara has established a unique position as the industry's only global crop nutrition company. With 17,000 employees and operations in more than 60 countries, sustainability is an integral part of our business model. In 2024, Yara reported revenues of USD 13.9 billion.

Disclaimer

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements relating to Leclanché's business, which can be identified by terminology such as "strategic", "proposes", "to introduce", "will", "planned", "expected", "commitment", "expects", "set", "preparing", "plans", "estimates", "aims", "would", "potential", "awaiting", "estimated", "proposal", or similar expressions, or by expressed or implied discussions regarding the ramp up of Leclanché's production capacity, potential applications for existing products, or regarding potential future revenues from any such products, or potential future sales or earnings of Leclanché or any of its business units. You should not place undue reliance on these statements. Such forward-looking statements reflect the current views of Leclanché regarding future events, and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such statements. There can be no guarantee that Leclanché's products will achieve any particular revenue levels. Nor can there be any guarantee that Leclanché, or any of the business units, will achieve any particular financial results.

 Contacts 

Media contacts: 

Switzerland / Europe:  
Thierry Meyer 
T: +41 (0) 79785 35 81 
E-mail: tme@dynamicsgroup.ch 

Germany: 
Christoph Miller 
T: +49 (0) 711 947 670 
E-mail: leclanche@sympra.de

Investor contacts: 
Hubert Angleys / Pierre Blanc 
T: +41 (0) 24 424 65 00 
E-mail: invest.leclanche@leclanche.com