The joint venture between Fortescue and OCP will supply hydrogen, ammonia and fertiliser to the Moroccan market and beyond. Meanwhile in Australia, Fortescue’s recently opened electrolyser production facility will produce 2 GW of PEM electrolysers per year.
Navigator sees its ship-to-ship ammonia transfer in South Africa as a milestone that will help unlock ammonia as a maritime bunker fuel. In Japan, JERA will begin truck-to-ship bunkering of ammonia fuel in late May, servicing NYK Line’s A-Tug vessel.
Hitachi Zozen and NYK will work towards a catalyst-based N2O removal system for ammonia-powered, 2-stroke marine engines.
Heidelberg Materials and partners will conduct a feasibility study on the use of ammonia as a hydrogen carrier for cement production. In the trials, a cracked ammonia fuel mix will power cement clinker production at Heidelberg’s Ribblesdale site in the UK.
The IMO’s Maritime Environmental Protection Committee has made significant strides towards implementing its net-zero agenda. The IMO is seeking to implement a fuel standard supported by a pricing mechanism. While many details remain unresolved, important steps forward have been made on emissions boundaries, flexibility elements and default value calculation. The goal of launching policy measures by the end of 2025 remains ambitious, but the IMO has sent a clear signal that it is committed to its net-zero roadmap.
OCI Global will deliver ammonia produced at its Texas plant to COMPO EXPERT in Germany, replacing 25% of its feedstock with low-carbon ammonia from this year. Meanwhile, the Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Limited (IFFCO) will offtake 200,000 tons of renewable ammonia per year from ACME’s under-development plant in Gopalpur, Odisha. This second deal will be facilitated by the use of “Internationally Transferred Mitigation Outcomes” (or ITMOs), a credit mechanism established by the Paris Agreement.
Black & Veatch has completed FEED work for Phase 1 of the Point Tupper project in Nova Scotia. With construction on track to begin later this year, ammonia production is expected to commence in 2026: 240,000 tons per year from electrolytic hydrogen powered by onshore renewables. EverWind Fuels also indicates that the project has been pre-certified by CertifHy™, meaning produced ammonia will meet compliance rules for exports to the EU.
CF Industries and JERA will work towards development of a 1.4 million tons per year, gas-based mega-project at CF’s planned Blue Point complex in Ascension Parish. JERA will explore a 48% ownership stake in the new project, with FID scheduled within a year. In Odisha, India, JERA will work with ReNew on the development of a renewables-based ammonia project.
The American Bureau of Shipping, Fleet Management Limited, Sumitomo Corporation, TOTE Services and CALAMCO will explore the feasibility of ship-to-ship bunkering at the Ports of Oakland and Benicia, leveraging CALAMCO’s existing ammonia import and storage terminal at the Port of Stockton.
With installation and testing of ammonia fuel equipment now complete, a 20% ammonia co-firing demonstration will proceed from April to June this year at the Hekinan power plant. JERA and IHI aim for commercial operations to begin around March 2025. JERA is also exploring part ownership and offtake from Exxon Mobil’s CCS ammonia mega-project in Baytown, Texas.