Norway’s Yara Marine Technologies has purchased Lean Marine, a provider of hardware and software to analyse and improve fuel consumption, as it rapidly greens its maritime technology portfolio.

The scrubber manufacturer, which has added a number of emissions reduction technologies in the last year, said it has acquired Gothenburg-based Lean Marine because it is “at the cutting edge of automated fuel-saving and performance management solutions”.

Lean Marine’s systems have been installed on more than 200 vessels worldwide operated by 50 different shipowners. Its combination of fuel optimisation systems and follow-on analysis is claimed to be able to cut consumption and make CO2 emission savings of up to 25%.

“We have spent more than a year analysing dozens of system providers, but no one comes close to what we found at Lean Marine,” Yara Marine chief executive Thomas Koniordos said.

“The savings offered by their technologies made our engineers’ hearts skip a beat.”

Lean Marine's FuelOpt control panel optimises propulsion via real-time automated control of vessel speed and consumption. Photo: Lean Marine

Lean Marine has two main systems.

Based on commands from the bridge, FuelOpt optimises propulsion via real-time automated control of vessel speed and consumption. It can also control controllable pitch propellers to produce the most amount of thrust with the least power.

Its second main product, Fleet Analytics, uses the vessel’s data to improve operational decision-making.

Lean Marine chief executive Mikael Laurin said the two companies have the same goal of a greener maritime industry and so were a natural fit.

“We are now ready to move our solutions into the next phase of rapid expansion, in a global market,” Laurin said.

“The time is right for our technologies to be offered to shipowners and operators worldwide with the help of Yara Marine’s extensive network and experience.”

Mikael Laurin is chief executive of Lean Marine. Photo: Lean Marine

No details of the acquisition price were given, but the companies said savings provided by Lean Marine’s systems have a strong business case ensured by a short payback time

Lean Marine will continue to offer FuelOpt and Fleet Analytics as part of Yara Marine’s portfolio of green technologies, backed by its global service and support infrastructure.

Koniordos added that Yara Marine can see several interesting synergies with Lean Marine.

“The integration of wind-assisted propulsion and conventional propulsion systems requires a smart solution, one that is able to dynamically adjust engine power, pitch propeller, and route for real time optimisation of fuel efficiency,” he said.

Yara Marine has moved into wind propulsion this year. In April, it signed a deal with BAR Technologies covering assembly and maintenance of the UK company's large-scale rigid WindWing sails. The sails will soon to be tested on a bulker chartered by Cargill.

As part of its process to diversify into sustainable technologies, Yara has also this year partnered French shore power supply firm NG3 to deliver cold-ironing equipment that plugs into ports’ electricity systems and announced an Israeli developer of a marine aluminium-air battery system as the winner of its first innovation accelerator.

Its parent group Yara International has also teamed up with trader Trafigura to develop and promote the use of ammonia as a clean fuel for shipping.