Are we ready for ammonia?

Over the course of the past year, the maritime industry has witnessed a remarkable surge in projects centered around ammonia as a sustainable ship fuel. Ammonia-powered ship types, fueled by zero-emission ambitions, have taken center stage at this year’s Gastech in Singapore, capturing the imagination of industry stakeholders and environmental advocates alike.

The exhibition and conference paved the way for the unveiling and clearance of several ammonia-powered vessel designs including Hanwha Ocean’s carbon-free LNG carrier, Samsung Heavy Industries‘ (SHI) 200K cbm ultra-large ammonia carrier fuelled by ammonia as well as partnerships on ammonia-fuelled ammonia bunkering vessels and collaboration on integrating ammonia-powered engines on new ships between WinGD and SHI.

Data from Global Maritime Forum’s 4th edition of Mapping of Zero Emission Pilots and Demonstration Projects shows that over 30 Approvals in Principle (AiP) for ship technology projects were registered in 2022 and 2023, compared to 7 in 2021, most of them featuring ammonia and larger ships.

The mapping report has registered 373 projects, up from 203 registered projects in the third edition, with new trends emerging.

Over one-third of registered projects have progressed to a new phase or reached an important development milestone since the third edition, such as AIPs.

“Ammonia is the dominant fuel focus for larger ship types and has seen important progress since the third edition, with most of the Approvals in Principle handed out in the past year being for ammonia-powered ship designs,” the report reads.

“For smaller ships, the leading technologies remain battery technology, hydrogen fuel cells, hydrogen internal combustion engines and methanol.”

This surge in ammonia-related pilots and demonstration projects signifies a pivotal shift in the maritime sector’s journey toward decarbonization, with technology advancements and collaborations at the forefront, as it gears up to embrace ammonia as a prominent player in the quest for cleaner and greener seas.

Some of the most recent AiPs involving ammonia include the Nordic Green Ammonia Powered Ships (NoGAPS) project consortium’s design of the ammonia-fueled gas carrier M/S NoGAPS which has secured clearance from DNV.

The NoGAPS project brings together key players in the value chain, including Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping (MMMCZCS), Nordic Innovation, Global Maritime Forum, BW Epic Kosan Ltd., Yara International, MAN Energy Solutions, Wärtsilä Marine, DNV, Danish Maritime Authority and the external ship designer Breeze Ship Design.

It is one of five projects awarded grants by Nordic Innovation as part of the Nordic Innovation Mobility Mission with the aim of decarbonizing Nordic ports, and the transport of people and goods – on and between sea and land.

The first phase of the project ran from 2020 to 2021 when a proof of concept was developed on how the barriers to the adoption of ammonia as a zero-emission maritime fuel can be overcome, focusing on safety and efficiency, sustainable and steady fuel supply chains, as well as commercial viability.

The second phase, which is still ongoing, involves producing an initial ship design that will lay the foundation for a shipyard tender and the potential construction of the vessel optimized for commercial operation in the North Atlantic and northwestern European waters.

In the container-shipping sector, in July 2023, Seaspan Corporation and MMMCZCS, in collaboration with Foreship, received Approval in Principle from ABS for the design of a 15,000 TEU ammonia-powered containership.

The 15,000 TEU vessel was designed as a potential receiver of ammonia fuel from bunker vessels currently under design and development.  

The project is connected to the Singapore Ammonia Bunkering Feasibility Study (SABRE) consortium, focusing on developing and demonstrating an ammonia supply chain in Singapore.

ABS has also greenlighted the design of Korea Maritime Consultants’ (KOMAC) ammonia-fueled  3,600-TEU containership. 

According to KOMAC, the modularity and flexibility of small-scale vessel operations make them more adaptable to new fuel technologies as they can be more easily retrofitted or designed from scratch to accommodate ammonia-fueled propulsion systems. This agility in adopting new technologies positions small-scale vessels as early adopters of alternative fuels like ammonia.

Viridis Bulk Carriers, a joint venture of Norwegian shipping consultancy Amon Maritime and compatriot shipowners Navigare Shipping & Logistics and AS Mosvolds Rederia, has also won approval for its ammonia-powered short-sea bulk vessel, this time from Bureau Veritas.

The approval is an important step towards being able to order the first series of vessels. The company expects to place orders for ships during 2023, with deliveries starting in 2025.

Meanwhile, the China Classification Society (CCS) has given clearance for an 85,000 dwt ammonia-fueled bulk carrier jointly developed in cooperation with Singapore’s SDTR Marine and Shanghai’s Merchant Ship Design & Research Institute (SDARI).

In line with this, Japanese shipping giant Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) and compatriot trading and investment company Mitsui & Co. recently received AiP from ClassNK for the design of a 210,000 dwt Capesize bulker with a main engine fueled by ammonia.

These are just a small portion of some of the most recent design approvals involving ammonia as fuel in the shipping sector, with many more in the pipeline.

The recent surge in the development and approval of ammonia-powered vessels has sparked a wave of orders for ammonia-ready ships. With the technology for ammonia propulsion becoming increasingly viable and environmentally attractive, shipowners are seizing the opportunity to future-proof their fleets.

According to data from DNV’s Maritime Forecast 2050, the adoption of vessels capable of running on ammonia as a fuel is poised to accelerate as the technology becomes more readily available. Notably, 58 ships within DNV Class have been commissioned as ‘ammonia ready,’ indicating that preparations for potential conversion to ammonia propulsion were made during the construction phase (DNV, 2050). Overall, data from Clarksons released in June this year showed that there were 191 ammonia “ready” ships on order.

Some of the most recent orders that made the headlines include Eastern Pacific Shipping’s (EPS) order for three ammonia dual-fuelled 210,000 dwt bulk carriers from Qingdao Beihai.

The contract was signed on September 5, as confirmed by China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC), and it involves the construction of three firm and three optional 210,000 dwt ammonia dual-fuel/ dual-fuel ready bulk carriers.

EPS has also ordered two 93,000 cbm liquid ammonia carriers, the world’s largest in terms of carrying capacity, from Jiangnan Shipbuilding. The latest order brings Eastern Pacific Shipping’s orderbook to a total of six VLACs of the same size.

Last week, Norwegian shipowner Grieg Maritime Group exercised options for two additional ammonia-ready open hatch bulk carriers taking the total to four ships. The 82.300 dwt open hatch vessels will be built by CSSC Huangpu Wenchong Longxue in China and they are slated for delivery in 2026.

A number of companies have added ‘ammonia-ready to their newbuildings. Some of the notable mentions include Norwegian RoRo shipping company Höegh Autoliners which has a total of 12 ammonia-ready car carriers under construction at China Merchants Heavy Industry (Jiangsu) and Ocean Network Express (ONE) with ten methanol/ammonia-ready containerships on order.

Over the past few of months, the industry has also seen the delivery of Kriti Future, the world’s first ammonia-fuel-ready tanker, and the world’s first ammonia-ready containership CMA CGM Masai Mara.

All of these ships have been designed so that they can easily be converted to run on ammonia at a later stage, which means that they have additional piping and storage tanks already in place or are provided for in advance.

The ships’ engines would need to be retrofitted or replaced with an engine capable of efficiently burning ammonia, which is not yet commercially available. This may involve modifying the combustion chambers, fuel injectors, and control systems to optimize the combustion process and ensure compatibility with ammonia as a fuel source.

However, the engine remains the missing puzzle.

When it comes to engine technology, a considerable progress has been made on this from as well over the past year. The most notable one may be a critical milestone achieved by German engine developer MAN Energy Solutions in the development of its highly-anticipated ammonia-powered engine.

Namely, in July 2023, the company completed successful combustion on its two-stroke ammonia engine at its Research Centre Copenhagen (RCC) as part of planned engine tests.

The successful combustion was performed on a MAN B&W two-stroke 4T50ME-X type and produced positive results with particularly promising data regarding pilot-oil amount and combustion stability.

MAN Energy Solutions aims to have a commercially available two-stroke ammonia engine by as early as 2024, followed by a retrofit package for the gradual rebuild of existing maritime vessels by 2025.

The general design of the engine is expected to inherit the main features of the well-known LGP supply system for liquid injection.

In 2021, the ammonia fuel-supply system and auxiliary systems were specified with the highest possible focus on safety, while 2022 saw the installation of the same systems at RCC with instrumentation for test engine No. 1 for 1-cylinder ammonia testing initiated. 

In 2023, ammonia bunkering and service-tank facilities were built with all auxiliary systems enabling a full containment of ammonia in the unlikely event of a leak. Similarly, all auxiliary systems were initially tested with water, followed by ammonia.

Uwe Lauber, CEO of MAN Energy Solutions, is confident that ammonia-powered ships are on the horizon, ushering in a new era of sustainable maritime transportation.

“In five years from now, I think we’re going to do the next step with MAN Energy Solutions. We will bring emission reduction to the next level because the regulations are showing us the path to 2050 to reach zero emissions,” Lauber said at a recent naming ceremony for the world’s first methanol powered containership.

The company’s counterpart WinGD is also making significant progress in this aspect as the company eyes the delivery of its first X-DF-A dual-fuel ammonia engine by the first quarter of 2025. The estimation is backed by recent rapid progress in developing an engine concept capable of using zero-carbon fuel efficiently, WinGD said. The company expects the first X-DF-A powered vessels in service from 2026. 

 The engine developer has teamed up with Mitsubishi Shipbuilding Co. on the development of ammonia-powered vessels with Mitsubishi both designing the vessels and completing the fuel chain with its ammonia fuel supply system (AFSS).

Most recently, South Korean shipbuilder Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) also won a green light for its ammonia fuel supply system developed for oil tankers and containerships. The shipbuilder said that the AiP award demonstrates SHI’s readiness for the new ammonia shipping market that is coming from global decarbonization demands.

However, the utilization of ammonia as a maritime fuel presents unique challenges. While the industry has experience with ammonia as a cargo in gas carriers and refrigerants in refrigeration plants, it has not been used as a primary fuel source. Given the pressing need to decarbonize the shipping sector, the deployment of ammonia as a fuel may progress more rapidly than the adoption of liquefied natural gas (LNG), DNV estimates in its Maritime Forecast 2050.

The practice of refueling while simultaneously performing other operations (SIMOPs) with ammonia will require coordination among various stakeholders, including regulatory bodies, terminal operators, fuel suppliers, bunkering infrastructure owners, and receiving ships, according to DNV.

The Society for Gas as a Marine Fuel (SGMF) has offered guidance on conducting safe operations during LNG bunkering and similar guidance is needed for bunkering ammonia, methanol, and hydrogen. Factors like proximity to populated areas, the type of fuel, and the bunkering facility’s design can affect the acceptability of bunkering in certain locations or in conjunction with other operations.

Earlier this month, SGMF teamed up with the Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation (GCMD) to collaborate on developing guidelines on the use of ammonia as a marine fuel.

The center has already completed a 9-month ammonia bunkering safety study which includes inputs from 22 industry partners and feedback from 8 regulatory agencies. This is expected to serve as a groundwork to support SGMF and its stakeholders in developing guidelines as the maritime industry pivots towards using ammonia as a low/zero-carbon fuel. 

DNV said in its Maritime Forecast that Nordic ports see safety and regulatory concerns as key barriers against supplying zero-carbon fuels, including hydrogen, ammonia, and methanol.

These concerns extend to ammonia, with safety aspects being particularly critical. Ports require training to address issues such as potential threats to nearby residents, handling ammonia leakages, space requirements for safety zones, the absence of a regulatory framework, and uncertainty surrounding lengthy regulatory processes.

Safety studies have indicated that operational parameters, including ammonia storage conditions, transfer flow rates, and release durations, significantly influence ammonia dispersion during potential leaks (S. Dharmavaram, 2023) (DNV, 2021b) (Clara Kay Leng Ng, 2023).

Additionally, even small ammonia leaks, though not necessarily harmful, can generate panic due to the pungent smell, potentially leading to significant public responses. As such, ship-to-ship ammonia bunkering at sea or in designated areas with minimal simultaneous operations presents a lower risk compared to port operations, DNV said.

Approximately 18 to 20 million tonnes of ammonia are transported annually by ship, with around 170 ammonia carriers currently in operation, 40 of which transport ammonia continuously, data from IRENA and AEA, 2022 shows.

In comparison, seaborne methanol transport amounted to approximately 30 million tonnes in 2018, with over 100 major ports already equipped to handle methanol, 47 of which have storage facilities exceeding 50,000 tonnes.

DNV believes that the existing ammonia and methanol terminals globally could serve as a foundation for establishing distribution networks, reducing the “last-mile” distribution costs for ammonia and methanol as shipping fuels.

In conclusion, the maritime industry is experiencing a significant shift towards embracing ammonia as a sustainable ship fuel, driven by the urgent need to decarbonize the sector and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

This shift is evident in the growing number of projects, approvals, and developments related to ammonia-powered ships. In light of these developments, it is clear that the maritime industry is actively preparing for the adoption of ammonia as a cleaner and greener fuel source.

While challenges remain, including safety and regulatory considerations, the momentum behind ammonia as a maritime fuel is growing.