The US Department of Energy (DOE) will award $24.9 million in funding for six research and development projects to support the advancement of clean hydrogen for electricity generation. This includes improving capture of CO2 associated with hydrogen production from carbon-based resources and technologies to use hydrogen in gas turbines more... Read more →

A development team from CoorsTek Membrane Sciences, in collaboration with international research partners, have successfully used ceramic membrane technology to develop a scalable hydrogen generator that makes hydrogen from electricity and fuels including natural gas, biogas and ammonia with near zero energy loss. A paper on the work is published... Read more →

The US price of ammonia, the primary source of nitrogen fertilizer, has risen by a factor of six in the past two years, and most of these increases have occurred since March 2021, according to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA). Ammonia prices generally follow natural gas prices because ammonia... Read more →

Following a three-month feasibility study, Aviation H2—an Australian-owned company seeking to achieve net-zero emissions in the aerospace sector through green hydrogen—has selected the use of liquid ammonia to turbofan combustion as the best route to carbon-free flight and will soon start modifying turbofan engines to test and prove the concept.... Read more →

Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) and Seaborg signed a partnership agreement to develop floating nuclear power plants based on Seaborg’s inherently safe Compact Molten Salt Reactor (CMSR). The floating nuclear power plant comes as a turn-key product, ready to be moored at an industrial harbor. In the harbor, a transmission cable... Read more →

Blending ammonia with a small amount of dimethyl ether (DME) gives a liquid fuel with low-temperature combustion properties very similar to gasoline, researchers at KAUST have shown. The development of such fuels could provide an option—in addition to electric cars—for “clean” power for the transportation sector. A paper on their... Read more →

A consortium of shipping stakeholders aims to develop demonstrators for two-stroke and four-stroke marine engines running on ammonia fuel. The Ammonia 2-4 project seeks to advance viable concepts for ammonia fuel. The project is coordinated by technology group Wärtsilä, with participation from naval architects C-Job, classification society DNV, ship owner... Read more →

Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK), MTI, and Elomatic Oy, a Finnish maritime consulting and engineering firm, have completed the development of a concept design for an ammonia-fuel ready LNG-fueled vessel (ARLFV) for the transition to a future marine fuel. NYK and MTI have established the long-term target of net-zero emissions... Read more →

SINTEF Energy Research and ECONNECT Energy have developed a novel computational fluid dynamic (CFD) modeling tool to predict LNG, ammonia and liquid carbon dioxide flow rates in floating, flexible cryogenic pipes. The tool will be used to better understand flow rates in floating pipe technology with various pressure and temperature... Read more →

Researchers at Hiroshima University have greatly improved the performance of ammonia (NH3) synthesis via the chemical looping process of lithium hydride by using a lithium oxide (Li2O) scaffold to improve the reaction kinetics. In a paper published in The Journal of Physical Chemistry C, the Hiroshima team reports that with... Read more →

Yara signed a contract with Linde Engineering for the construction and delivery of a green hydrogen demonstration plant at Yara’s ammonia production facility at Herøya Industripark in Porsgrunn, Norway. The project, which is supported by a NOK 283 million (US$31.5 million) grant from Enova (announced in December 2021), will demonstrate... Read more →

Classification Society ClassNK has issued an Approval in Principle (AiP) for the design of an ammonia-fueled Panamax bulk carrier developed by Planning and Design Center for Greener Ships (GSC). GSC was formed in 2020 by nine shipbuilders and ClassNK Ammonia is expected to be used as decarbonized fuel for ships... Read more →

Sumitomo Corporation will launch a full-scale project to design and develop an ammonia-fueled dry bulk carrier jointly with Oshima Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. The ship is expected to be 229m in length, with a beam of 32m and deadweight of 80,0000-81,000MT. Speed is to be 14.3 knots. A dry bulk carrier... Read more →

Researchers at the at the Max Planck Institute for Coal Research (Max-Planck-Institut für Kohlenforschung) report the mechanocatalytic synthesis of ammonia over a cesium-promoted iron catalyst under mild conditions—room temperature and pressures down to 1 bar. Ammonia synthesis via the Haber-Bosch process normally requires temperatures of 400-500 °C and pressures of... Read more →

By disrupting normal societal activities such as driving, COVID-19 lockdowns afforded a unique opportunity to study their impacts on the environment. Researchers now report in ACS’ Environmental Science & Technology Letters that satellite data from before and during the spring 2020 lockdown in Los Angeles shows that vehicles, rather than... Read more →

Swiss engine designer WinGD, a leading developer of two-stroke low-speed gas and diesel engines used for propulsion power in merchant shipping, said that its engines will be able to run on methanol and ammonia from 2024 and 2025 respectively. WinGD’s multi-fuel solutions will be based on its well-established diesel-fueled X... Read more →

A combined experimental and computational study published in Nature Catalysis shows promising results for a new class of catalysts producing ammonia under mild conditions. The production of ammonia amounts to about 200 megatons per year. This makes it the second-most produced chemical in the world, surpassed only by sulfuric acid.... Read more →

A research team at the University of Wisconsin–Madison has identified a new way to convert ammonia to nitrogen gas through a process that could be a step toward ammonia replacing carbon-based fuels. The discovery of this technique, which uses a metal catalyst and releases—rather than requires—energy, was reported in Nature... Read more →

KazMunayGas, the state-owned oil and gas company of Kazakhstan, and the technology company Linde have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to cooperate and develop jointly clean energy projects in Kazakhstan. The first stage of cooperation will focus on exploring the opportunity of producing hydrogen and ammonia using natural gas as... Read more →

Haldor Topsoe will deliver its blue ammonia technology for Air Products’ recently announced $4.5-billion clean energy complex in Louisiana. (Earlier post.) Air Products will build, own and operate the megaproject, which will produce more than 750 million standard cubic feet per day (MMSCFD) of blue hydrogen in Ascension Parish, Louisiana.... Read more →

The technology group Wärtsilä and Norwegian ship owner Eidesvik Offshore ASA have signed a cooperation agreement aimed at converting an offshore supply vessel (OSV) to operate with an ammonia-fueled combustion engine with required fuel supply and safety system. This project will be the first of its kind and has a... Read more →

Höegh Autoliners entered into a Letter of Intent (LoI) with China Merchants Heavy Industry (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd. (CMHI) to build a series of its multi-fuel and ammonia-ready Aurora class vessels. Under the terms of the LoI, the first two vessels will be delivered in the second half of 2024. The... Read more →

Wärtsilä and the Korean shipbuilding company Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) have signed a joint development program (JDP) agreement aimed at developing ammonia-fueled vessels with 4-stroke auxiliary engines available for future newbuild projects. Both parties recognise the importance of future carbon-free fuels in the marine industry’s drive towards decarbonization. The agreement... Read more →

thyssenkrupp has been awarded a contract to perform a technical study for a new green hydrogen and green ammonia project by the Emirati company Helios. A water electrolysis plant as well as a facility for sustainable ammonia production are planned to be constructed at KIZAD in Abu Dhabi, UAE, based... Read more →

Mitsui OSK Lines has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for a joint study to build a supply chain of renewable energy-derived ammonia (green ammonia) with Australian energy company Origin Energy. Origin is pursuing a number of green ammonia and hydrogen projects, including a green ammonia export project in Bell... Read more →

Mitsui & Co., Inc., one of the leading ammonia marketers in the world, and CF Industries Holdings, Inc., the world’s largest producer of ammonia, announced a memorandum of understanding that will guide the companies in a joint exploration of the development of blue ammonia projects in the United States. CF... Read more →

Itochu Corporation and Irkutsk Oil Company (IOC); Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation (JOGMEC); and Toyo Engineering Corporation (TOYO) have agreed to undertake a detailed study for the commercialization of a blue ammonia value chain between Eastern Siberia and Japan. This study will be Phase 2, following Phase 1... Read more →

Nutrien, the world’s largest provider of crop inputs and services, and EXMAR, a provider of floating solutions for the operation, transportation and transformation of gas, will jointly develop and build a low-carbon, ammonia-fueled vessel. Partners for more than three decades in transporting ammonia globally, Nutrien is one of the world’s... Read more →

The technology group Wärtsilä is investigating the adoption of hydrogen and ammonia as viable engine fuels through advanced testing in Wärtsilä’s fuel-flexible combustion engines. Hydrogen and ammonia contain no carbon; hence, combustion releases no CO2 emissions. Full-scale engine tests have been recently carried out in Wärtsilä’s engine laboratory in Vaasa,... Read more →

Crude oil tanker company Euronav NV announced a Joint Development Program (JDP) with the largest shipbuilder in the world, Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) and classification societies Lloyd’s Register and DNV, to help accelerate the development of dual fuel Ammonia (NH3) fitted VLCC and Suezmax vessels. The initial term of the... Read more →

The Danish Energy Agency’s Danish Energy Technology Development and Demonstration Program (EUDP) has awarded 81 million DKK (app. €11 million) to the green ammonia project managed by the three partners Skovgaard Invest, Vestas, and Haldor Topsoe. The project aims at building a 10 MW green ammonia plant directly coupled to... Read more →

Trafigura Pte Ltd, one of the world’s leading independent commodity trading companies, and Yara International ASA, a leading global ammonia player, signed a Memorandum of Understanding to collaborate on the development and promotion of the use of ammonia as a clean fuel in shipping and to explore possible opportunities to... Read more →

In Japan, JERA and IHI Corporation will conduct a demonstration project under the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization’s “Development of Technologies for Carbon Recycling and Next-Generation Thermal Power Generation / Research, Development and Demonstration of Technologies for Ammonia Co-Firing Thermal Power Generation” program. This will be the world’s... Read more →

Cummins Inc. and KBR signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to collaborate on offering a complete and integrated solution to produce ammonia from renewable sources: green ammonia. Cummins, with its proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolysis to generate hydrogen, and KBR, with its ammonia technologies, have committed to explore the benefits... Read more →

Topsoe and the leading Russian chemical company Shchekinoazot have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to synchronize vison and plans on developing blue and green methanol, ammonia, and hydrogen production and reducing CO2 emissions. The two companies agreed to inform each other on latest technological developments and jointly explore opportunities... Read more →

thyssenkrupp has signed a contract with Illinois-based CF Industries to supply a 20 megawatt alkaline water electrolysis plant to produce green hydrogen at their Donaldsonville, Louisiana, manufacturing complex. The work is expected to begin in the second half of 2021 and finish in 2023. thyssenkrupp 20MW electrolyzer CF Industries will... Read more →

Under the name “Green Wilhelmshaven,” Germany-based international energy company Uniper plans to establish a German national hub for hydrogen in Wilhelmshaven and is working on a corresponding feasibility study. Plans include an import terminal for green ammonia. The terminal will be equipped with an ammonia cracker for producing green hydrogen... Read more →

Australia-based Fortescue Metals Group, one of the world’s largest producers of iron ore, recently revised its emissions reduction goal to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030—10 years earlier than its previous target. Fortescue Future Industries (FFI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Fortescue, will be a key enabler of this target through the... Read more →

Starfire Energy, a Colorado-based developer of modular chemical plants for the carbon-free production of ammonia and hydrogen, has closed a major funding round. The investment round was led by AP Ventures, a significant investor in breakthrough hydrogen technologies, and included New Energy Technologies, Chevron Technology Ventures, Osaka Gas USA, and... Read more →

MAN Energy Solutions has begun the ‘AmmoniaMot’ project. Initiated by MAN with partners from industry and research institutes, it aims to define the steps necessary to produce a dual-fuel, medium-speed engine capable of running on diesel-fuel and ammonia. Supported by the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology (BMWi), and... Read more →

Ammonia has recently emerged as a liquid storage and transport medium that has shown promising stability for long-distance hydrogen transport. At 108 kg H2/m3, liquefied ammonia (NH3) can store 50% more hydrogen than liquid hydrogen. When ammonia is decomposed at high temperatures, only hydrogen and nitrogen gases are produced, with... Read more →

Haldor Topsoe and Nel ASA have entered a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the intent to offer customers complete solution for green ammonia and methanol produced with renewable electricity. The solutions will be based on Nel’s alkaline and PEM electrolysis technologies in combination with proven ammonia and methanol technologies from... Read more →

Aquamarine is developing a large-scale green ammonia facility to be constructed in multiple stages. In the first stage of the project, the proposed facility will use Haldor Topsoe’s proprietary solid oxide electrolyzer cells (SOEC) (earlier post) to produce green hydrogen from 100 MW of renewable electricity. The hydrogen will be... Read more →

Lloyd’s Register (LR) has awarded an Approval in Principle to EXMAR for its ammonia (NH3)-fueled 40,000 m3 Midsize Gas Carrier, a significant milestone for the progression of alternative fuels in shipping. Jiangnan Shipyard was responsible for the ship design while Wärtsilä Gas Solutions provided all input for the ammonia fuel... Read more →

The EU should promote the use of green hydrogen and ammonia by ships as part of its upcoming maritime fuel law, major shipping industry players and environmentalists have told the European Commission. The FuelEU Maritime initiative will require ships carrying EU trade to progressively switch to sustainable alternative fuels. In... Read more →

Eastern Pacific Shipping (EPS) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with OCI N.V. (OCI) and MAN Energy Solutions (MAN) to develop methanol and ammonia as marine fuels to support industry-wide decarbonization and environmental preservation efforts. The partnership involves using select conventional vessels from EPS’ existing tanker fleet that use MAN... Read more →

Little more than a year after a Joint Development Project (JDP) to develop an ammonia-fueled tanker design was launched by LR, MISC Berhad, MAN Energy Solutions and Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI), the partners have been joined by Yara International ASA, a giant Norwegian chemicals company and major ammonia producer, and... Read more →

RINA, a global classification society, and the Shanghai Merchant Ship Design & Research Institute (SDARI) have signed a Joint Development Project Agreement to develop a ship design capable of being fueled by either ammonia or methanol. Within the Agreement, SDARI will focus on the ship concept development and design while... Read more →

Chemical engineers at UNSW Sydney and University of Sydney have developed a hybrid plasma electrocatalytic process for the production of sustainable (“green”) ammonia. The method makes green ammonia from air, water and renewable electricity and does not require the high temperatures, high pressure and huge infrastructure currently needed to produce... Read more →

Alfa Laval, DTU Energy, Haldor Topsoe, Svitzer and the Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping are entering into a joint project to accelerate the development of solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) technology. Funded by a grant from Danish EUDP (Energy Technology Development and Demonstration Program), the partners will... Read more →