In an interview with media outlet TradeWinds, MAN Energy Solutions has indicated that a detailed testing program for its two-stroke marine ammonia engine began last week in Copenhagen. With safe, sustainable operations paramount, MAN is aiming for the test engine to operate on 100% ammonia fuel in all four cylinders by 2025.
The Norway-based technology developer has announced successful testing of a 6 kW, ammonia-fed solid oxide fuel cell unit. The test unit is seen as the “first building block” of a larger 100 kW module to be stacked & used for marine propulsion.
The US Department of Energy has launched a new scheme to help “catalyze durable, bankable demand” for clean hydrogen & ammonia production. A request for information notice seeks feedback on potential demand-side measures the US government could implement to complement the regional Hydrogen Hubs program.
Australia’s national research organisation CSIRO is contributing valuable R&D across the hydrogen and ammonia value chains. At Ammonia Energy APAC 2023, we’ll hear updates on some key ammonia energy projects at CSIRO: small-scale production, combustion engines, and fuel cells, as well as an ongoing partnership with Fortescue Future Industries to develop & deploy metal membrane technology for ammonia cracking systems.
Chinese automotive manufacturer GAC Group has unveiled its first ammonia-powered, 120 kW engine for passenger cars at a recent showcase event in Guangzhou.
A joint study into ammonia safety onboard three different vessel types has found that safety risks of ammonia fuel can be mitigated, but only if technical safeguards are implemented and key “human factors” are addressed. The new report sets out a series of recommendations to ensure acceptable risk levels for crew on-board ammonia-fueled vessels.
Yara and Bunker Holding will look to accelerate the supply of ammonia bunker fuel to first movers in the shipping industry, focusing on key trading routes and port locations. In Norway, Equinor and Azane Fuel Solutions will undertake a new project, aiming to demonstrate how Norway’s offshore sector can be decarbonised by 2030 via the use of clean ammonia fuel.
The cost gap between fossil-based ammonia production and electrolysis-based ammonia production in China is arguably the smallest in the world. In our May episode of Ammonia Project Features, we explored two new, “flexible” renewable ammonia projects being developed in northeast China, as well as some of the engineering challenges as we scale-up electrolysis plants to gigawatt-sized.
The Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation released the public findings from its Ammonia bunkering pilot safety study last month. Three potential pilot sites have been identified in Singapore, and a combined HAZID - QRA methodology has found that 400 operational and locational risks for ammonia bunkering were all classed as low or mitigable. Sign up for our upcoming Ammonia Energy APAC conference in August to learn more, when GCMD Chief Technical Officer Dr. Sanjay Kuttan will join us in-person to explore the report and answer your key questions.
Two ammonia-ready vessels - the CMA CGM Masai Mara and the ALS Ceres - were delivered this May. Both are the first in a series of six containerships contracted to be built at different Chinese shipyards.