Under the new MoU, Yara and Kyushu Electric will work to establish clean ammonia supply chains to decarbonise coal-fired power generation in Kyushu, Japan. The MoU also foreshadows the pair will promote the use of ammonia energy solutions in other sectors on Japan's third-largest island.
Asia
Korean shipbuilders embrace ammonia-fueled solutions
Two announcements this week: i) Samsung Heavy Industries and Wärtsilä have agreed to jointly to develop new-build vessels with 4-stroke, ammonia-fueled auxiliary engines; and ii) Bureau Veritas has awarded Approval in Principle to Hyundai Heavy Industries and KSOE for their new, ammonia-fueled vessel design.
Trammo and Lotte Fine Chemical sign agreement for green ammonia supply
Trammo (one of the world's largest transporters of ammonia) will supply green ammonia to Lotte Fine Chemical (LFC is currently the largest ammonia buyer in Asia) after a new agreement was signed this week. The MoU represents the first green ammonia supply agreement in Korea, and is a critical step in LFC's development of a Korea-wide ammonia value chain.
Hyundai Glovis to begin shipping ammonia
Korean logistics organisation Hyundai Glovis will ship LPG and ammonia from 2024 as part of a new ten-year agreement signed with Swiss-based commodity trader Trafigura. Glovis will spend around US$170 million on two new very large gas carriers (VLGCs) designed to carry both LPG and ammonia.
New materials for cracking catalysts
Among the many challenges for cracking researchers is their choice of material to build their catalysts from. There is hope that cheaper, more readily-available materials will replace the Ruthenium-based catalysts that have dominated the field up to this point. This week two new pieces of research suggest a way forwards using alkali metal-based materials: Lithium and Calcium.