Policy
IMO progresses on guidelines for ammonia fuel
The IMO reports that significant progress has been made on the development of draft interim guidelines for the safety of ships using ammonia as fuel. Approval of the final guidelines is scheduled for December 2024, with a series of key regulatory updates due in the coming years.
Maritime buyers alliance launches tender for zero-emissions shipping
The Zero Emission Maritime Buyers Alliance has launched a tender process for container shipping powered by zero-emissions fuels. The twenty-member Alliance includes major global consumer brands, and is seeking bids to meet an aggregate demand of 600,000-plus TEUs over 3 years, with a book-and-claim approach to be used for fuel certification. The demand-side initiative comes as a new report from UMAS and the Getting to Zero Coalition finds the window of opportunity for the global shipping industry to meet its 2030 goals is closing.
US hydrogen hubs revealed: coast-to-coast projects to anchor new industry
The US Department of Energy has selected seven hydrogen hub applications to proceed to a funding negotiation stage, with $7 billion to be split between them. Fertiliser, power generation, industrial decarbonisation and heavy vehicle transport are all target markets for the new hubs, with locations to range from the Gulf Coast, Appalachia, the Midwest to the Californian coast.
New partnership to develop guidelines for use of ammonia as a marine fuel
The Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation and the Society for Gas as a Marine Fuel will collaborate on new guidelines for ammonia as a marine fuel. The work will help build towards ammonia bunkering demonstrations in Singapore.