Singapore-based firms PaxOcean Engineering and Hong Lam Marine have joined forces with French classification society Bureau Veritas (BV) to develop an ammonia bunker vessel design. The partners aim to use green ammonia as a sustainable fuel to help decarbonise global shipping, reports Supply Management.
Designs for ammonia-fuelled vessels
PaxOcean intends to focus on developing designs for ammonia-fuelled vessels used to bunker ammonia, while BV will ensure any design complies with the latest rules relating to the handling of ammonia.
Bunker vessel operator Hong Lam Marine will provide operational data and give feedback on the design’s suitability for commercial operations.
Last year SM reported that ammonia, the foundation for the nitrogen fertiliser industry, could prove to be a greener way of powering ships, despite the fact that ammonia production currently creates 1.8% of global CO2 emissions – the most of any chemical industry.
A report by the Royal Society said that new technology had enabled ammonia to be produced without creating carbon emissions, for example by using renewable energy to power its production.
This has led the maritime industry to see it as a potential fuel for shipping.
Decarb
The IMO aims to fully decarbonise shipping by 2050, leading some organisations to see retrofitting engines to run on ammonia as a way of meeting this target.
Ammonia is easy to store and flexible to use in combustion engines and fuel cells, as well as having good potential compared to other decarbonising technologies.
Quah Ley Hoon, chief executive of the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore, said: “As a major bunkering hub, this forward-looking collaboration aligns with our maritime decarbonisation efforts to be ready for a multi-fuel bunkering transition to support the future of International shipping.”
David Barrow, vice president, South Asia Zone of Bureau Veritas Marine & Offshore, said: “Ammonia has great potential as a zero-carbon marine fuel and can play a significant role to help shipping reach its decarbonisation goals, but to fulfil this potential, more work is needed to overcome the safety and operational challenges.
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Source: Supply Management
