GIC & Hy24 will invest $115 million to accelerate the deployment of InterContinental Energy’s portfolio of ammonia mega-projects. In the USA, Electric Hydrogen has closed a $380 million Series C funding round, accelerating plans to build a gigafactory in Massachusetts and deliver its first PEM electrolysers in 2024.
KBR will integrate SolydEra’s solid oxide electrolysis technology into its proprietary K-GreeN® ammonia synthesis process thanks to a new MoU. K-GreeN® is the technology of choice for several significant ammonia mega-projects, including Avina Clean Hydrogen (Texas), and ACME Group (Oman).
KBR will deploy its new H2ACTSM ammonia cracking technology in Daesan, South Korea, delivering 200 tonnes of hydrogen per day as fuel for power generation. The new project is part of Hanwha Corporation’s decarbonisation push which includes co- and 100% firing of hydrogen fuel in gas turbines, ammonia production & export, and ammonia-powered vessels.
As part of our Maritime Ammonia Insights series, we explore progress onboard the NH3 Kraken, Amogy’s ammonia-powered tug being developed in New York state. We heard updates on vessel retrofits, design points, project partners, the ongoing relationship with the US Coast Guard, HAZOP assessments, regulatory work and the remaining challenges before the tug hits the water for operational trials. Amogy’s Abigail Jablanksky and Chief Safety Solutions’ Herbert Fowlkes joined Conor Furstenberg Stott in conversation.
Korea Research Institute of Ships & Ocean Engineering’s offshore hydrogen & ammonia production design has received Approval in Principle from the American Bureau of Shipping. In Scandinavia, the Norwegian government has awarded funding for two ammonia-fuelled vessel projects as part of a NOK 709 million funding round (including Yara Clean Ammonia & Viridis Bulk Carriers).
The two partners will pool their resources to develop ammonia bunkering at the Port of Algeciras in Spain.
In a new policy brief, H2Global sets out the case for the use of blockchain in hydrogen certification. The use of a decentralised, digital, public ledger for key certification data could support the development of radically transparent and secure schemes, though H2Global acknowledges blockchain’s key limitations. To illustrate its potential, H2Global points to the success of two currently operating schemes based on blockchain: “GreenToken” and “Clean Energy Certification as a service” (CEC).
With international shipping activity to more than double by 2050, the IEA forecasts that ammonia’s share of final energy consumption in the industry will rise to 44% in 2050, with a suite of other low-carbon fuels to play smaller roles. Lloyd’s Register & OCI HyFuels have also forecast that ammonia (and particularly electrolytic ammonia) will become the most significant fuel in the maritime sector by 2050.
In vessel news this week:
OCI will offtake electrolytic hydrogen feedstock from New Fortress Energy’s ZeroParks facility from 2025, allowing for the production of 80,000 tonnes per year of renewable ammonia at its Beaumont plant in Texas. This “over-the-fence” feedstock approach will also be employed in the development of a new multi-million tonne per year, greenfield ammonia plant in Beaumont, with Linde to own & operate an adjacent, CCS-based hydrogen production plant.