LR and SHI to work on green ammonia FPSO system

South Korean shipbuilder Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) and classification society Lloyd’s Register (LR) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to jointly develop a floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) for green ammonia.

Together, SHI and LR plan to develop the FPSO unit that will use renewable energy to provide power for electrolysis of seawater to produce green hydrogen, which will be combined with nitrogen and synthesized to produce green ammonia, ready for offloading to ammonia carriers.

The new unit is planned to be linked with offshore wind farms in Europe.

For this project, SHI will develop the design for the FPSO and LR will undertake the review of SHI deliverables and provide technical advice for further design development.

Sean van der Post, Lloyd’s Register’s Offshore Business Director, said: “The green ammonia market is poised to grow rapidly in the coming decades, particularly as a clean fuel alternative for the global shipping industry. LR is looking forward to collaborating with SHI to help meet this demand.”  

Hae-Ki Jang, CTO of Samsung Heavy Industries, added: “We are delighted to be working with Lloyd’s Register on this project as a part of our development efforts towards achieving Net-zero and pioneering advancements in green energy.” 

The South Korean shipbuilder recently received approval in principle (AiP) from classification society ABS for its design of an ammonia FPSO unit. The concept named Samsung Ammonia Blue features advanced safety components with an expected production capacity of 1.2 million tonnes per annum of ammonia.