Site items in: China

Green Maritime Corridors - A catalyst for transition to green shipping fuels
Article

The ports of Los Angeles and Shanghai have announced the intention to create a green shipping corridor across the Pacific Ocean. The ambition is for ships trading between these ports to run on alternative low greenhouse gas emission fuels. Ammonia stands among the options as such an alternative.

There is a clear willingness from key players at the LA end of this trans-Pacific shipping corridor to embrace alternative fuel solutions and work together to unlock a suite of zero emissions technologies, albeit limited to an onshore focus for now. Shifting focus onto the water - where ammonia maritime fuel will undoubtedly play a critical role - is the logical next step.

New benchmark for coal co-firing reported in China
Article

The South China Morning Post reports that China Energy Investment Corporation has successfully demonstrated co-firing 35% ammonia with coal at a power generation unit in Shandong Province. Further technical details emerged from additional Chinese media outlets, including that the pilot test occurred in a 40 MW coal boiler at the Huaneng Yantai coal power plant, and that NOx emissions were reportedly lower than burning pure coal fuel.

Ammonia-ready vessels: new contracts & deliveries in China
Article

This week we explore a trio of announcements out of China:

1. The ammonia-ready vessel Kriti Future has been delivered to owners Avin International.

2. Höegh Autoliners has contracted China Merchants Heavy Industry to build at least four of their new ammonia-ready vessel design: the Aurora-class car carrier. The new builds will meet requirements for DNV GL's methanol and ammonia-ready notation guides.

3. And Swiss-based shipping giant MSC has placed an order for six ammonia-ready container ships from Dalian Shipbuilding in China. The vessels will be powered by WinGD dual-fuel engines, for which retrofits will be available by 2024/5 to run on methanol and ammonia.

New ammonia-powered vessels: Newcastlemax & Panamax class
Article

Rio Tinto and AngloEastern have announced they will develop Newcastlemax class, ammonia-powered bulk carriers. The dry cargo vessels will be the maximum size allowed to dock in the Port of Newcastle, Australia: an important coal & iron ore port in global maritime trade. Both AngloEastern and Rio Tinto are members of an Itochu-led maritime fuel study investigating the use of ammonia. In Japan, a "greener ships" consortium has produced its first-ever ammonia-powered design: a Panamax-class bulk carrier. And the China State Shipbuilding Corporation will develop two 93,000 m3 ammonia-powered ammonia carrier vessels, with Bureau Veritas granting AiP for the vessel design.

3rd generation ammonia synthesis: new catalysts & production pathways
Article

We look at four new developments this week:

1. A team from DTU Energy and the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics have uncovered a new class of alternative catalysts for mild condition ammonia synthesis. The ternary ruthenium complex hydrides Li4RuH6 and Ba2RuH6 avoid the energy-intensive pathway of nitrogen dissociation in a "synergistic" manner.

2. A team from the Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials reported a highly selective (95%) plasma ammonia synthesis method.

3. A team from Delft University of Technology has presented an present an "unconventional electrochemical design" that physically separates hydrogen and dinitrogen activation sites.

4. A team at the Max Planck Institute for Coal Research has demonstrated a new mechanochemical ammonia synthesis system that operates at room temperature and pressures as low as 1 bar.