Led by the Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation, a consortium has successfully executed a ship-to-ship ammonia transfer in outer anchorage, simulating ammonia bunker fuel operations within a port for the first time.
The West Australian state government has allocated land to four organisations as it progresses development of the Pilbara Hydrogen Hub. Fortescue Future Industries, Yara, Hexagon and Perdaman have all been selected to participate, adding to the list of ammonia projects already underway in the region.
ENGIE has successfully reached a final investment decision on Project Yuri. The collaboration with Yara will see renewable hydrogen feedstock produced next door to Yara’s existing ammonia & fertiliser production facility in Karratha, Western Australia, with construction to commence this year, and production of renewable hydrogen to begin in 2024.
In further developments, Yuri has new stakeholders, with Mitsui & Co. securing a 28% interest stake in Yuri, and Technip Energy being selected to lead EPCC works. And in certification news, the Smart Energy Council also announced it has granted pre-certification for renewable hydrogen & ammonia production from Project Yuri, under the Zero Carbon Certification Scheme.
Yara Clean Ammonia and the Pilbara Ports Authority have joined forces to explore the potential for ammonia bunkering in northern Australia. Together, the pair will work through the safety & operational challenges presented by ammonia maritime fuel at PPA’s existing ports network, which includes two of the world’s largest bulk export ports. Tune into the Australia conference next week for more updates from Yara, including Project YURI, future plans in the Pilbara, and how certification work will help unlock seaborne clean ammonia trade around the world.
This week, Yara announced major progress toward producing "green ammonia" at its plant in Pilbara, Australia. Its new partner in this project is ENGIE, the global energy and services group, which last year made a major commitment to developing large-scale renewable hydrogen projects. I first reported Yara's plans for a solar ammonia demonstration at its Pilbara plant in September 2017. This week's announcement means that the Pilbara project has moved to the next feasibility phase. However, major elements of the project have already been designed and built: during last year's scheduled turnaround for plant maintenance, the hydrogen piping tie-in was completed - meaning that the Haber-Bosch unit is ready to receive hydrogen directly, as soon as an electrolyzer has been built to supply it with renewable feedstock.
The Port Bonython and Pilbara Hubs are part of a wider strategy by the Australian government to set up multiple hubs around the country to promote renewable hydrogen & ammonia production in Australia. Based on a common-user infrastructure approach and equal federal-state funding, other locations set to benefit from this initiative include Kwinana, Gladstone, Townsville, Bell Bay and the Hunter.
Following a successful engine retrofit, FFI’s dual fuel vessel debuted at COP28 this month. Unable to run on or carry ammonia fuel due to restrictions from local authorities, FFI Chairman Andrew Forrest called for the world’s ports to catch-up to technological progress and update their regulations. FFI will also be a key part of the Pacific Northwest Hydrogen Hub (one of seven hubs awarded funding by the US DoE), and has added to its vertical integration capabilities with the opening of a new technical innovation centre in the UK.