The Week in Alternative Fuels 10 November 2023
Ammonia’s appeal as a potential bunker fuel is growing. A first wave of confirmed orders for ammonia-fuelled vessels suggests that the shipping sector has formally opened its doors to include the fuel in its alternative fuel mix.
PHOTO: Concept design of the ammonia-fuelled container ship Yara Eyde. Yara Clean Ammonia
DNV's Alternative Fuels Insight (AFI) database added 14 methanol-fuelled vessels in October, DNV's principal consultant Martin Christian Wold said. This takes the total number of methanol-fuelled vessels in operation and on order for delivery by 2028 to 230. But it was ammonia that took centre stage for yet another week as DNV confirmed three orders for ammonia-fuelled vessels, marking a major milestone in the shipping sector's green fuel transition.
There is already growing recognition that ammonia could lead the shipping sector's green fuel transition. Now shipowners and operators have officially accepted ammonia as a marine fuel with confirmed vessel orders. However, the onus will also be on ports and suppliers to facilitate bunkering infrastructure and supply of clean ammonia for these vessels.
The Silk Alliance has set a 2027 deadline for deploying low-carbon ammonia-powered pilot vessels, and 2030 as a target year for ammonia for bunkering in Singapore. As a first step, the alliance plans to establish a green shipping corridor along the intra-Asian container route, with Singapore serving as the main ammonia bunkering hub. Pilot tests are likely to be conducted along this route before the project will be extended to other ports in Pacific Islands, North Asia and East Africa by 2030.
The Silk Alliance is a regional green corridor cluster in Asia founded by Lloyd's Register. Its members include shipping firms Pacific International Lines and X-Press Feeders, ammonia producer Yara Clean Ammonia, the Methanol Institute, engine maker Wärtsilä and the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore among others.
German energy infrastructure investment firm DAI Infrastruktur and energy tech firm Siemens Energy plan to build a green ammonia plant in Egypt’s East Port Said. Green ammonia will be made available as bunker fuel for ammonia-fuelled ships passing through the Suez Canal. The plant is scheduled to start up in 2028, with a capacity to produce 1.65 million mt/year of green ammonia from renewable energy sources.
A study conducted by classification society Lloyd's Register deemed the northwest Australian ports of Port Hedland and Dampier optimal for ammonia bunkering. The study was commissioned by Yara Clean Ammonia and Pilbara Ports Authority and found that these two ports can facilitate ship-to-ship ammonia bunkering of bulk carriers within a risk range that is considered "acceptable".
Meanwhile on the supply side, Dutch methanol producer OCI Global intends to scale up its combined low- and zero-carbon ammonia and methanol output to 1.7 million mt/year by 2025 to meet an estimated rise in maritime demand. Its blue ammonia plant in Beaumont, Texas will begin production in 2025 and boast an initial capacity of 1.1 million mt/year. It will also build a green ammonia plant in Beaumont with 80,000 mt/year capacity in 2025, and double that to 160,000 mt/year in 2026.
By Konica Bhatt
Here is our selection of top five alternative fuels stories from this week:
Methanol vessel orderbook gains momentum, ammonia sees a ‘breakthrough’ – DNV
Silk Alliance unveils plan for green ammonia- and methanol-fuelled shipping corridor
Egyptian ammonia plant to produce 1.65 million mt/year from renewables
OCI Global to scale up green methanol and ammonia production for shipping
Australia's Pilbara region suitable for ammonia bunkering – LR study
