Amogy to deploy its technology on a tank barge

 Brooklyn-based technology startup Amogy Inc. has entered into a strategic partnership with Southern Devall, formerly Southern Towing Company & Devall Towing, that will enable the commercial debut of Amogy’s ammonia-to-power technology in the global maritime market. 

Namely, Amogy’s zero-emission ammonia-to-power system will be deployed on a tank barge for the first time. The system converts ammonia into hydrogen for use in fuel cells or as a more energy dense method of long-distance hydrogen transportation.

Southern Devall specializes in transporting bulk liquid chemicals and fertilizer products throughout the Mississippi River and Gulf Intracoastal Waterway System. The company currently services a significant portion of the ammonia production market and delivers ammonia to terminals for export and agricultural and chemical customers along America’s inland waterways.

Amogy said that the partnership would provide it with access to vast ammonia infrastructure as well as the Southern Devall team’s expertise in handling ammonia and maritime operations. 

Amogy and Southern Devall have initiated work on their first technology deployment, a retrofit of a barge that is anticipated to be completed by the end of 2023.

An Amogy powerpack will generate the power needed to reliquefy ammonia as it heats up over the course of a voyage, instead of a diesel genset. The Amogy system will keep the ammonia tank pressure low, enabling Southern Devall to deliver ammonia to customers upon arrival and increase the utilization and profitability of their fleet. The system has already passed initial safety reviews and recently received Approval in Principle (AiP) from Lloyd’s Register. 

Following the barge integration and demonstration, Amogy and Southern Devall plan to pursue retrofits of additional barges and tugboats, creating an ammonia-powered fleet that includes cargo transportation vessels as well as bunkering barges.

“Southern Devall shares Amogy’s passion for driving innovation, making them the perfect strategic partner to support our commercial entrance to the U.S. maritime market,” said Seonghoon Woo, CEO of Amogy.

“In collaboration with their team, we’ll have a first-mover advantage in this space through expanded access to the ammonia infrastructure and industry knowledge, setting us on track to demonstrate our platform’s operational capabilities in large maritime vessels.” 

“Amogy has built an impressive platform that our team believes is an ideal solution for introducing cost-efficient, zero-carbon bunkering and powering operations to the inland barge industry,” said Sam Lewis, Vice President of Engineering at Southern Devall.

“Adopting their solution at scale in our fleet has both environmental and economic benefits through increased delivery volume.” 

In the U.S., the inland shipping sector is responsible for an estimated 6.2 million tons of CO₂ emissions each year. Many operators in this industry rely on older, high-investment equipment, vessels and barges dating back to the 1960s. This partnership between Amogy and Southern Devall aims to demonstrate scalable, cost-effective solutions for refurbishing fleets to improve quality and introduce zero-carbon power and bunkering capabilities.