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The Ammonia Solution: Ammonia engines and fuel cells in cargo ships could slash their carbon emissions

2021; Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers; Volume: 58; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1109/mspec.2021.9370109

1939-9340

Maria Gallucci,

Ammonia Synthesis and Nitrogen Reduction

Maritime shipping contributes nearly 3 percent of annual carbon-dioxide emissions, according to the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the United Nations body that regulates the industry.In 2018, delegates agreed to reduce emissions by 50 percent from 2008 levels by 2050.Meeting that target will require swift and widespread development of diesel-fuel alternatives and new designs for freighters, tankers, and container ships.Shipowners and industry analysts say they expect ammonia to play a pivotal role in decarbonizing cargo ships.But there's a crucial caveat: No vessels of any size today are equipped to use the fuel.Even if they were, the supply of able, or "green," ammonia produced using carbon-neutral methods is virtually nonexistent.Most ammonia is the product of a highly carbon-intensive process and is primarily used to make fertilizers and chemicals.Recently, though, a handful of projects aim to change that.Finland's Wärtsilä plans to begin testing ammonia in a marine combustion engine in Stord, Norway, by late March.Germany's MAN Energy Solutions and Korean shipbuilder Samsung Heavy Industries are part of an initiative to develop the first ammoniafueled oil tanker by 2024.Also by 2024, the Viking Energy is poised to become the first vessel propelled by ammonia fuel cells.The Norwegian energy company Equinor (formerly Statoil) charters this offshore supply vessel, which currently runs on liquefied natural gas.Chemical giant Yara will provide the green ammonia, which it plans to produce at a plant in southern Norway.The initiative "will open up a completely new option for zero-emission shipping," says Henriette Undrum, Equinor's vice president of renewable and low-carbon technology."We are not just solving one small problem for one ship.It's part of the bigger picture.It will be a starting point to build up the market for zero-carbon fuels."