The Transhydrogen Alliance - a consortium formed this year by Proton Ventures, Trammo DMCC and Varo Energy - will invest $2 billion in green hydrogen production at the Pecém Complex in the Brazilian state of Ceará. The project's aim is to produce 500,000 tonnes per year of green hydrogen, which will be converted to 2.5 million tonnes of green ammonia for import to Europe via the Port of Rotterdam.
Wärtsilä and Simon Møkster Shipping will explore the feasibility of using ammonia as the main fuel in dual fuel engines. Currently Møkster's fleet operates on LNG. In Japan, NYK Line, Japan Engine Corporation, IHI Power Systems, Nihon Shipyards and ClassNK will all collaborate on a demonstration project of ammonia-powered vessels in Japan. First announced in 2020 with three vessel concepts, two of the three vessel designs now have a commercialisation schedule fully defined (the A Tug and the AFAGC).
InterContinental Energy have just announced their fourth ammonia "Supergiant": the Saudi Arabia Renewable Energy Hub (SAREH). At this stage details are limited, but the new collaboration between InterContinental, Saudi Aramco and Modern Industrial Investment Holding Group forms part of a wider decarbonisation push by the Kingdom. Aramco's ultimate goal is to achieve net-zero for Scope 1 & 2 emissions across its wholly-owned operated assets by 2050.
Grupo Fertiberia will work with the local government of Norbotten Region, Sweden to develop of a EUR 1 billion green ammonia & fertiliser plant. Powered by a mixture of wind and hydropower, Project "Green Wolverine" will feature 600 MW of electrolysers and produce 500,000 tonnes per year of carbon-free ammonia.
IRENA's new report explores the available options and actions needed en route to a decarbonised global shipping sector by 2050. A pivotal role is forecast for renewable ammonia, with 183 million tonnes per year (the current volume of annual global ammonia production) to be required by 2050 for maritime fuel.
ACME has selected KBR to provide ammonia synthesis technology for its new green hydrogen & ammonia production facility to be built in Duqm, Oman. The project was first announced in March 2021, and has now grown to $3.5 billion in investment size, with energy to be provided by 3 GW of solar panels and 0.5 GW onshore wind power. The 2,400 tonnes per day (or 0.9 million tonnes per year) renewable ammonia facility is planned to be operational in 2022.
A new agreement between H2 Bolivia and the Government of Oruro will see a 500,000 tonne per year green ammonia plant built in the country. Taking advantage of the "unmatched solar irradiance" in the Oruro region, a solar farm will power 490 MW of electrolysers at the plant, with enough land acquired to expand the project well beyond the initial capacity target.
A group of multinational, consumer-facing organisations including Amazon, Ikea, Michelin and Unilever have committed to using only zero-emission ships to transport their cargo by 2040. As a group and as individuals, coZEV members intend to set ambitious interim goals, and lobby policymakers to bring about the necessary regulatory changes.
Air Products will lead construction of a USD 4.5 billion, 20 million cubic metres-per-day blue hydrogen & ammonia production plant in Ascension Parish, Louisiana. Hydrocarbon feedstock will be used to produce hydrogen, with carbon emissions captured and permanently sequestered (the project will be the single largest instance of permanent sequestration in the world).
Eidesvik Offshore and Wärtsilä will cooperate in the world's first ammonia conversion project, with an existing offshore supply vessel (OSV) to be retrofitted with an ammonia-fueled combustion engine, fuel supply and safety system. The project has a completion date of late 2023. In the engine space, MAN ES has signed a new agreement with Mitsui E&S and Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) to have purchase contracts for its low-speed, ammonia-fueled main vessel engine finalised in 2023.