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.
Navigator sees its ship-to-ship ammonia transfer in South Africa as a milestone that will help unlock ammonia as a maritime bunker fuel. In Japan, JERA will begin truck-to-ship bunkering of ammonia fuel in late May, servicing NYK Line’s A-Tug vessel.
Hitachi Zozen and NYK will work towards a catalyst-based N2O removal system for ammonia-powered, 2-stroke marine engines.
CF Industries and JERA will work towards development of a 1.4 million tons per year, gas-based mega-project at CF’s planned Blue Point complex in Ascension Parish. JERA will explore a 48% ownership stake in the new project, with FID scheduled within a year. In Odisha, India, JERA will work with ReNew on the development of a renewables-based ammonia project.
With installation and testing of ammonia fuel equipment now complete, a 20% ammonia co-firing demonstration will proceed from April to June this year at the Hekinan power plant. JERA and IHI aim for commercial operations to begin around March 2025. JERA is also exploring part ownership and offtake from Exxon Mobil’s CCS ammonia mega-project in Baytown, Texas.
CCS-based ammonia produced in the USA by Idemitsu, Mitsubishi and Proman is expected to hit the Japanese market by 2030, targeting multiple end uses.
More than €4.7 billion is now available to support the growth of hydrogen derivative imports to the EU. Via its implementation entity Hintco, H2Global has already launched a series of auctions to fund ten-year purchase agreements for methanol, ammonia and SAF.
Two new Bills make up a “hydrogen promotion” package submitted to the Japanese parliament. The “Hydrogen Society Promotion Bill”, sets up a framework for awarding subsidies under the GX bonds scheme (a contracts-for-difference program), while the “CCS Business Bill” sets out permitting and monitoring requirements for domestic CCS projects in Japan.
An NYK-led consortium, which includes Japan Engine Corporation, IHI Power Systems and Nihon Shipyard, has announced that a construction contract has been signed with Japan Marine United to build its 40,000 m3 ammonia-fueled medium gas carrier (AFMGC) in Ariake. The vessel is due to be delivered in November 2026.