Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) has completed class approval testing for its HiMSEN Ammonia Dual-Fuel Engine, a four-stroke model that will be fed by direct high-pressure ammonia fuel injection.
The American Bureau of Shipping has granted AiP for two new autonomous technology packages developed by Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering and Hyundai Heavy Industries: an unmanned ammonia engine room, plus an AI safety package with rapid-response capabilities.
A series of new AiPs underlines momentum for marine ammonia fuel. For bunkering, barges and a range of jetty-less transfer terminals will enable safe operations. Fuel systems that can be retrofitted to existing vessels are also under development, as is an ammonia-powered “feeder” container vessel to complement larger designs.
Ammonia energy giants JERA and Lotte will develop a low-carbon ammonia value chain between Japan and Korea, working alongside the governments of both countries.
The biennial SMM event in Hamburg featured a number of ammonia announcements from across the entire fuel value chain, including deployment timelines for MAN’s two-stroke engines, high-pressure fuel pumps, bunker and container ship designs, and technology integration partnerships.
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.
Several ammonia-centric vessel designs were granted AiP at the recent Posidonia shipping exhibition in Greece. Lloyd’s Register approved designs including the world’s largest Very Large Ammonia Carrier, a container vessel and a gas carrier propelled by Amogy’s ammonia-to-power technology, a NOX-compliant container vessel featuring a MAN ammonia engine, and an ammonia-powered Very Large Ore Carrier. Lloyd’s Register also recently approved H2SITE’s onboard ammonia cracking technology.
The Korea Institute of Energy Research has successfully demonstrated an upgraded version of its ammonia cracking system. The new system eliminates the use of LNG or LPG as reaction heat source and introduces a single-step process for hydrogen separation from the tail gas.
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.
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.