From near-zero volumes today, JERA has set its sights on being a “pioneer player” in the emerging global value chain for ammonia, handling 7 million tons every year by 2035. JERA is also aiming for 100% substitution of ammonia fuel in ultra-supercritical power stations in the 2040s, and to maintain currently low levels of NOX and SOX emissions from its power generating fleet.
Mizuho Financial, one of Japan’s largest banks, has outlined its near-term investment strategy for the “production and supply of hydrogen and related technologies by 2030”. Mizuho is offering ¥2 trillion worth of financing that will be committed to various projects and players globally, and is also engaged in various hydrogen and ammonia initiatives.
Fifty percent of phase one production will be supplied to Yara Clean Ammonia from Greenko’s planned production facility in Kakinada, southern India. The offtake agreement covers “long-term supply” of ammonia, which will be compliant to EU import requirements.
Hygenco will establish a 1.1 million tons per year renewable ammonia project in the Gopalpur Industrial Park. Hygenco recently commissioned the Steel One project, one of India’s first MW-scale, electrolytic hydrogen production plants.
Eastern Pacific Shipping’s on-order very large ammonia carriers (VLACs) will be registered in Singapore, thanks to a new partnership with the Maritime and Port Authority. Trafigura has announced the first of its ammonia-fueled, medium gas carriers will be delivered from South Korea in 2027. In Japan, K LINE and MAN are leading a 5-party collaboration to develop ammonia fueled-engines and deploy them in 200,000 dwt bulk carriers. We also explore ammonia-fueled Aframaxes in Malaysia, a concept study for a large-volume, coastal ammonia carrier in Japan, and a new salmon fishing vessel design in Norway.
MAN Energy Solutions has announced one of the first deployments of its ammonia two-stroke engine will take place in Japan. Mitsui E&S will construct the MAN B&W 7S60ME dual-fuel engine, with Imabari Shipbuilding to then install it aboard a Newcastlemax bulk carrier, along with an integrated SCR catalytic converter to treat engine NOX emissions. The news underscores significant momentum for the deployment of marine ammonia engines, with Wärtsilä, WinGD and Mitsubishi Shipbuilding also engaged in ongoing projects.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and NGK Insulators will jointly develop a membrane-based purification system to produce high-purity hydrogen from ammonia cracking. Also in Japan, Toyo Engineering and Nippon Seisen will lead development of a small-scale ammonia cracking unit, producing on-demand hydrogen for vehicle fuel and power generation.
Multiple ammonia import bases are under development in Asia. In Singapore, Vopak and Air Liquide will explore new infrastructure on Jurong Island. In South Korea, Ulsan Port Authority and NGO Pacific Environment will cooperate to accelerate the transition of Ulsan into an “eco-friendly” port. And in Japan, IHI will lead two study consortia exploring new supply and distribution hubs in Hokkaido and Fukushima.