Five major maritime companies signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) today that will see the companies explore the possibility of establishing a green ammonia supply chain for the supply of carbon-neutral fuels at the Port of Singapore.
[s2If is_user_logged_in()]A.P. Moller – Maersk A/S, Fleet Management Limited, Keppel Offshore & Marine, Maersk Mc-Kinney Moller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping, Sumitomo Corporation and Yara International ASA are to conduct a joint feasibility study into the development of ship-to-ship bunkering of green ammonia.
The group defines green ammonia as “carbon-free ammonia synthesised from nitrogen and carbon-free hydrogen produced from renewable energy”.
According to the joint statement released today ammonia emits no carbon dioxide when burnt and has, long been considered as one of the most promising alternative marine fuels to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions within the shipping industry, which is in line with the International Maritime Organization (IMO) strategy to reduce CO2 emission by 2050.”
As an in-depth study the remit of the group is to identify and understand the complete supply chain for ammonia bunkering, including the production of the fuel with a bunkering vessels design and all the related infrastructure that will supply vessels with the fuel.
“Relevant government agencies and experts in Singapore will be engaged in working towards the standardisation of safe operation and regulations. The study will assess the supply of ammonia including potential synergies with Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) as a starting point,” said a group statement.
LPG has some similarities in its handling and storage requirements to ammonia which could allow an LPG barge to be converted to green ammonia use instead.
Morten Bo Christiansen, VP and Head of Decarbonisation, A.P. Moller – Maersk, said “We see green ammonia as an important future fuel for the decarbonisation of our fleet. A dual fuel Ammonia engine is currently under development, but for green ammonia to fuel our vessels in the future we also have supply, infrastructure and safety related challenges to solve, not least when it comes to bunkering operations. We are pleased to work with renowned companies in this field to pave the way for Ammonia as a future fuel to decarbonise global shipping.”
MAN began the development of its dual fuel, amonnia/HFO engine in 2019 and the company expects the first ammonia powered engine to be available in 2024.
| Partners | Key roles |
| A.P. Moller – Maersk A/S | Maersk will provide input specific to container vessels and will work on development of safe and reliable bunkering procedures for ammonia. |
| Fleet Management Limited | Fleet Management Limited will work on the development of safe and reliable operating bunkering procedures for the alternative marine fuels from manning service provider’s point of view. |
| Keppel Offshore & Marine | Keppel will develop and design the new build ammonia bunkering vessel and ammonia-ready LPG bunkering vessel4 and lead in the coordination with relevant authorities in Singapore to establish port regulations and operational guidelines. |
| Maersk Mc-Kinney Moller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping | The Center will map all safety related topics in an ammonia maritime technology roadmap. Outcome of the bunkering study will be integrated in a techno-economic model including detailed understanding of end-to-end cost and Life Cycle Analysis. |
| Sumitomo Corporation | Sumitomo Corporation will structure, integrate and promote the end-to-end supply chain of green/blue/brown ammonia and LPG as the alternative marine fuels, which includes supply, transportation, storage and bunkering. |
| Yara International ASA | Yara will lead in the feasibility evaluation of the supply of green/blue/brown ammonia to Singapore. |
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