Ecomar Propulsion to Build Zero Emission Marine Engines in Esbjerg
The UK-based company Ecomar Propulsion has decided to set up its first production site in Esbjerg, Denmark, as part of its ambitious plan to reduce maritime greenhouse gas emissions by 10 million tonnes - within the next 10 years.
Founded in 2019, Ecomar Propulsion has quickly become a leader in hydrogen and battery technology integration into marine propulsion systems. Now, the company is preparing to produce and commercialise its innovative and specialist products to cater to both electric and hybrid (battery/hydrogen) zero emission propulsion engines for maritime use.
As of 2030, all commercial shipping must reduce emissions by a minimum of 40%, increasing to at least 50% by 2050. Today, propulsion alone produces 85% of ship emissions, making it a key focus area for the green transition of the maritime sector. Since propulsion makes up 60% of operating costs in commercial shipping, there is also significant commercial incentives to develop green solutions for this segment.
FINDING THE IDEAL LOCATION FOR ECOMAR PROPULSION’S FIRST PRODUCTION FACILITY
Catering primarily to clients in the Nordics and Baltics, Ecomar Propulsion started their search in 2021 to find the optimal location for their first production facility.
Invest in Denmark assisted Ecomar Propulsion during their decision-making process, helping with research and analysis of the power-to-x/green hydrogen, wind and maritime ecosystems in Denmark. Utilising its extensive network, Invest in Denmark was able to support Ecomar Propulsion in building vital relationships with key stakeholders in the maritime and energy/power-to-x ecosystems. This included the municipality of Esbjerg, potential collaboration partners, strategic investors and service providers, all in order to support Ecomar Propulsion at a very early stage.
Eventually, Ecomar Propulsion chose Denmark as the location for their first production site. This was primarily because of the welcoming environment, Denmark’s ability to react quickly to new green innovation and the city of Esbjerg acting as a centre for future clean energy growth.
Denmark offers excellent value for any company in our sector. Combining access to the EU for exports and the Danish tradition of high value engineering with a rapid expansion in our customer base - the decision to make the investment was a simple one.
Making a move to Denmark is significant for us, but the help we received from the Invest in Denmark team and Business Esbjerg was far superior to any other location under consideration. Their engagement made the transition and networking far easier than we anticipated. The trickiest part now is for senior management to learn Danish, which is probably more complicated than building a new ship.
Eugene BariCEO at Ecomar Propulsion
The future ambition is to grow Ecomar Propulsion’s operations in Denmark to a size of 25-30 employees in Esbjerg and eventually also collaborating with the local ecosystem on power-to-x technology R&D projects.
“The team at Ecomar Propulsion are impressed by the strong support for and focus on sustainability in Denmark and have found Esbjerg to be the right location for our future production facility. We are on a mission to reduce maritime greenhouse gas emissions by 10 million tonnes within 10 years and believe conditions in Denmark will support us on this journey.”
Eugene BariCEO at Ecomar Propulsion
With the ambition of being a carbon neutral municipality in 2030, it is important that our business environment pushes for the same goal.
With companies like Ecomar Propulsion entering Esbjerg, we are on the right track to enable green technologies for our supply chain in the offshore and maritime sectors.
Uffe LundgaardHead of Investment at Business Esbjerg
We are delighted to welcome Ecomar Propulsion to Denmark. Their plans to further develop zero emission engines will be part of the solutions needed to drive the green transition of the maritime industry in Denmark and globally.
Denmark is already a global leader in both offshore wind and in the maritime sectors and has announced political ambitions to further significantly scale Denmark’s offshore wind capacity.
Ecomar Propulsion will be right at the centre of green innovation and contributing actively by developing zero emission engines for the maritime sector.
We look forward to following their journey and continuing to assist Ecomar Propulsion as they scale their business.Anne Hougaard JensenDirector at Invest in Denmark