In the few short weeks since we explored the concept & implementation of “Green Maritime Corridors” at Ammonia Energy, we’ve seen a flurry of significant players express their interest in the space. Here we explore announcements from the Castor Initiative, the European Green Corridors Network, and the news that Singapore will become a signatory to the Clydebank Declaration for Green Shipping Corridors.
Five ammonia vessel updates this week:
1. An ammonia/liquefied CO2 carrier concept design from Mitsui O.S.K. Lines & Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.
2. Approval in Principle for an ammonia-fueled car carrier designed by China State Shipbuilding.
3. Approval in Principle for the MS Green Ammonia.
4. An MoU between three members of the Castor Initiative to design & construct two Very Large Crude Carriers.
5. A concept design for up to four types of ammonia-ready, LNG-fueled vessels (ARLFV) from NYK Line.
Two updates from AFC Energy:
1. The “Power Tower”, a 10kW, ammonia-fueled, off-grid power was launched last month, with Keltbray and Acciona to deploy modular units on construction sites mid-year.
2. The launch of Extreme-H off road racing, with green methanol and ammonia likely to act as hydrogen carriers for the hydrogen-fueled racing championship.
Fortescue Future Industries and German energy giant E.ON have signed a significant hydrogen supply & distribution agreement this week. Aiming to begin as quickly as possible, by 2030 FFI will ramp up supply to 5 million tonnes of green hydrogen to Europe per year for distribution by E.ON.
Thanks to Indian news channel CNBCTV18, take a three-minute tour of ACME Group’s green hydrogen & ammonia production plant in Bikaner, Rajasthan. The demonstration-sized facility is the first green hydrogen plant in India, powered by 5 MW of solar panels.
This week we explore some recent funding announcements for ammonia energy:
Trammo and Canada-based Teal Corporation have signed an exclusive supply and off-take agreement this week for green ammonia produced at Teal’s to-be-built plants. The first is a hydroelectric ammonia plant in Quebec, producing 800,000 tonnes per year, with more projects planned to bring production capacity up to at least 2.5 million tonnes.
Adani Power and two Japanese organisations - IHI Corporation and Kowa - have signed a new MoU to conduct a feasibility study into 20% ammonia-coal co-firing at the Mundra power plant in Gujarat, India. The trio will also investigate increasing this co-firing percentage all the way up to 100% ammonia fuel (“mono-firing”). The new MoU contributes to a national-level partnership announced last week - the "India-Japan Clean Energy Partnership (CEP)".
Maire Tecnimont will develop a world-scale blue ammonia plant in the US after being awarded a contract by a “leading global chemicals producer”. Valued at approximately $230 million, the new plant features a 3,000 tonnes per day blue ammonia synloop. Completion is expected as early as 2025.
In January 2022, UMAS and the Getting To Zero Coalition (GtZC) released a report with policy options for closing the competitiveness gap between conventional & future maritime fuels. Such measures will be necessary to enable an equitable transition to zero-emissions shipping. So how might these potential policy routes may impact and enable the scaling of maritime ammonia?