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.
We highlight ammonia developments in Taiwan in line with the island nation’s plans to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050:
Alma Clean Power is in the process of testing a modular, 100 kW, direct ammonia-to-electricity solid oxide fuel cell that will be able to be stacked to create larger power systems 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.
A new Scandinavian collaboration aims to transform Risavika and the wider Stavanger region as a bunkering hub for ammonia fuel, supplied by Iverson eFuels’ hydro-ammonia production project in Sauda.
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.
Trammo will purchase up to 100% of renewable ammonia produced by Allied Green Ammonia in the Northern Territory, Australia, with the first ammonia sales anticipated to occur in late 2028. In further news for AGA’s project, Germany-based EPC firm SPG Steiner will supply two 40,000 ton, cryogenic tanks to store ammonia production before offtake.
Ahead of the 3rd Symposium on Ammonia Energy in Shanghai next month, we take the opportunity to highlight select papers and key results from the first two editions, starting with the 2022 Cardiff event:
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.