First Ammonia Motors has successfully demonstrated a pure ammonia-fed V8 engine, which utilises proprietary onboard heat recycling and ammonia cracking technology to generate hydrogen as a combustion co-fuel.
Japan Engine Corporation has announced commercial readiness for its new 2-stroke, dual-fuel engine. The first engine unit will be installed on an ammonia-fueled medium gas carrier next month, with the vessel scheduled to enter service in 2026.
Everllence (formerly MAN Energy Solutions) will supply four 7S60ME-LGIA dual-fuel engines to Höegh Autoliners, for installation aboard Höegh’s new Aurora-class car carriers.
Ammonigy, Heraeus Precious Metals and the Technical University of Darmstadt have partnered to demonstrate operations using cracked ammonia fuel in a four-stroke MAN test engine. The performance and efficiency of the test engine when running on ammonia-hydrogen fuel was comparable to natural gas operations, and use of an exhaust aftertreatment system reduced potentially harmful nitrogen-based emissions to near-zero levels.
EXMAR announced this week that a WinGD dual-fuel ammonia engine has now been installed onboard the first of its under-construction vessels in South Korea. Ammonia-fueled ammonia carriers similar to EXMAR’s are currently being built in Korea, China, and Japan, with the first of these vessels to hit the water next year.
We explore recent, full-scale, four-stroke engine testing results from IHI and Wärtsilä. Testing indicates N2O emissions can be almost fully eliminated with catalytic treatment, and significantly lower NOX emissions for engines running in ammonia mode, compared to running on diesel. While ammonia slip remains a key consideration due to the design of a four-stroke engine, catalytic treatment of the exhaust can eliminate even high concentrations, and release mitigation systems have already been designed and deployed to ensure safe operations.
We explore recent, full-scale, dual-fuel engine testing results from leading maritime vendors such as MAN Energy Solutions and WinGD. Testing indicates negligible emissions of the potent GHG N2O (which can be fully eliminated with catalytic treatment), and significantly lower NOX emissions for engines running in ammonia mode, compared to running on fuel oil or diesel. Overall, compliance with IMO Tier II and III emission limits is well within reach for the first generation of ammonia-fueled maritime engines.
The collaboration integrates MAN’s dual-fuel engine technology with COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry's repair and vessel modification capabilities.
Over the course of the demonstration, NYK analyzed the emission reductions achieved, with a peak of 94.4% reductions using 94.8% ammonia fuel under 75% engine load (similar results at 100% engine load).
Between 2026 and 2029, Mitsui O.S.K Lines will add three ammonia-powered Capesize bulkers and six chemical tankers to its fleet through joint ownership and chartership with CMB.TECH. MOL, Namura Shipbuilding and Mitsubishi Shipbuilding have also received AiP from ClassNK for a large-size ammonia-powered ammonia carrier.