Mitsubishi

Idemitsu and Mitsubishi Corporation are developing ammonia handling terminals in Japan to meet the production capacity of overseas projects, such as the million-ton-per-year Baytown project led by Exxon.

Wärtsilä Gas Solutions will now provide the ammonia fuel supply and cargo handling systems for all six of EXMAR’s dual-fuel vessels being built in South Korea. Meanwhile, Amogy and Mitsubishi have completed concept designs for two onboard systems: a powertrain combining ammonia cracking and hydrogen fuel cell for ships, and a hydrogen supply facility to provide hydrogen as pilot fuel to an ammonia-fueled engine.

Amogy & Azane Fuel Solutions will explore the use of Amogy’s ammonia-to-power system on board Azane’s ammonia bunker vessel concept. In Norway, Amogy has announced two new initiatives: one with Green Ships and Bourbon Horizons to deploy its propulsion system on a series of new Platform Service Vessels, and another to cooperate on supply chain development with ammonia fuel producer Hy2gen. Amogy, Mitsubishi and SK Innovations have also announced a new partnership to explore the large-scale deployment of Amogy’s ammonia cracking technology in Japan & Korea.

Asahi Glass Corporation announced it has successfully used 100% ammonia fuel to produce architectural glass over two days of testing at its Yokohama Technical Center, with NOx emissions below environmental thresholds. The news follows successful ammonia co-firing tests to produce cement clinker by Mitsubishi UBE Cement Corporation.

Mitsui OSK Lines, Mitsubishi, Chiyoda and the Electricity Generation Authority of Thailand will work together to build a clean hydrogen & ammonia value chain, with production based on renewable energy generation in southern Thailand. The MoU was signed on the sidelines of the official launch of the Asian Zero Emissions Community: a new region-wide initiative to drive the energy transition in Asia.

Indonesia’s state-owned fertiliser manufacturer will join forces with Mitsubishi Corporation to explore the feasibility of hydrogen & ammonia supply chains in the country: both renewable and CCUS-based. The new partnership aims to reduce coal utilisation at existing thermal power plants via co-firing with ammonia, helping Indonesia to meet its emissions reduction targets.

Last week, Japan’s Ministry of Energy, Trade, and Industry (METI) announced the formation of a council to work on the implementation of ammonia as an energy commodity. The announcement came on the same day as a speech by Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga in which he established 2050 as the date certain for Japan to achieve carbon-neutrality. That was Monday October 26, 2020. The council held its first meeting on Tuesday October 27. The Council consists of four entities from the public sector and ten from the private sector. Members include companies that have previously been identified with the development of ammonia energy systems, including EPC firm JGC, capital goods manufacturer IHI, electric utility JERA, and shipping company NYK Line. The membership also reflects what appears to be the group’s central mission: positioning Japan as ammonia energy’s global leader via the dissemination of technology and the development of supply chains.

In the last 12 months ... In July 2017, 19 companies and three research institutions came together to form the Green Ammonia Consortium. Before this development, it was unclear whether ammonia would find a significant role in Japan’s hydrogen economy. In the wake of this announcement, however, ammonia seems to have claimed the leading position in the race among potential energy carriers.