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 has been contracted to supply the total technology package for the conversion of the Viking Energy to run on ammonia fuel. The original plan to retrofit the vessel with a 2 MW solid oxide fuel cell system was delayed by supply chain and development challenges, but SOFC developer Alma Clean Power will continue to test and scale its direct ammonia-fed technology for maritime applications.
NYK has announced that the tugboat Sakigake has been completed, and will enter three months of commercial trials in Yokohama harbor and Tokyo Bay. Thanks to retrofits, Japan’s first LNG-fueled vessel has now become Japan’s first ammonia-fueled vessel.
An NYK-led consortium has been granted engine room safety accreditation by ClassNK for its ammonia-fueled, medium gas carrier design. The vessel is due to hit the water in 2026. Starting later this decade, NYK has also committed to transport renewable ammonia from Sembcorp’s under-development production project in India to Kyushu, Japan.
The FuelEU Maritime Regulation is set to launch on August 31, requiring companies to submit monitoring plans ahead of its full implementation in January 2025. With modest initial targets and sophisticated compliance mechanisms like banking, borrowing, and pooling, the scheme offers flexibility while driving innovation in sustainable maritime technologies. The scheme also offers extra incentives for companies to proactively embrace Renewable Fuels of Non-Biological Origin (RFNBOs), before mandates enter into force next decade.
The pair will explore the integration of Amogy’s ammonia cracking technology with Yanmar’s under-development hydrogen internal combustion engine. Yanmar is a leading provider of marine engines for small-scale marine propulsion, and has also commercialised a hydrogen fuel cell system.
At last month’s MariNH3 conference in Nottingham, a series of keynotes laid out the opportunities and challenges ahead for marine ammonia fuel. Onboard ammonia cracking technologies are moving through testing phases and closer to commercialisation, vessel designers are working through the unique challenges of carrying ammonia fuel onboard, and emissions mitigation technology (in combination with adherence to existing Tier 3 standards) will be necessary to ensure that ammonia-powered vessels are more environmentally-friendly than conventional counterparts.
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.
Trafigura reports its first successful ship-to-ship transfer of ammonia has taken place in the Straits of Gibraltar. Around 6,000 tons of ammonia being shipped from CF Industries’ Donaldsonville complex in Louisiana was transferred between gas carriers, before being delivered to Fertiberia in Spain for the production of feritliser.
New funding from the Norwegian government will assist two maritime ammonia developers: Amon Gas and Höegh Autoliners. Amon has confirmed orders for two ammonia-powered, mid-sized gas carriers, while Höegh will establish an ammonia fuel supply chain to ensure its Aurora Class car carriers can run on ammonia fuel on delivery in 2027.