Fluxys and Advario have issued a call for market interest in ammonia import capacity at their new, open-access terminal at the Port of Antwerp-Bruges. Fluxys is also engaged in the HyBex project, a pilot commodity trading hub that will help establish a hydrogen market in Belgium. Also in Europe, the Port of Rotterdam and the Port of Shannon Foynes will collaborate to develop a green fuels corridor.
The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry has published a regional strategy to decarbonise the power generation ecosystem in the Chugoku region, Japan. The strategy predicts the region will require more than 3 million tons of fuel ammonia by 2030, and highlights several ongoing industrial initiatives to demonstrate the use of ammonia fuel & establish local import infrastructure.
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.
The American Bureau of Shipping, Fleet Management Limited, Sumitomo Corporation, TOTE Services and CALAMCO will explore the feasibility of ship-to-ship bunkering at the Ports of Oakland and Benicia, leveraging CALAMCO’s existing ammonia import and storage terminal at the Port of Stockton.
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.
Yara and Azane have received approval from Norway’s Directorate for Civil Protection to construct their first ammonia bunker facility at Fjord Base, with the bulk of bunker operations to provide offshore supply vessels with ammonia fuel. In the Netherlands, the Dutch EPA has granted a permit to OCI Global to construct a 60,000 ton ammonia storage tank in Rotterdam, based on requirements that will feature in the updated version of PGS-12.
A research team from Griffith & Oxford Universities concludes that, with the right approach, multiple world-scale, renewable ammonia plants could operate on the Queensland coast, supporting the deep decarbonisation of the electricity grid. Flexible plants can provide “green ammonia value chain-based” demand response services, representing a potential answer to Australia’s winter energy problem.
In marine ammonia news to begin 2024, we explore a volume-efficient, “prismatic” ammonia fuel tank design, a new long-term charter for ammonia shipping in the Pacific region, and two global gas exporters ordering ammonia-capable carriers for their fleets.
IHI & Vopak will explore the development and operation of large-scale ammonia terminals in Japan, focused on the cost-effective distribution of ammonia imports. In the Netherlands, Proton Ventures reports that work on the conversion of Vesta Terminal’s existing site into an ammonia import hub is on schedule for FID to be made by 2024. And in other Proton Ventures news, the organisation has been awarded a FEED contract with Geldof to develop an ammonia terminal in Western Africa.
