Amogy’s ammonia-powered tug to hit the water in late 2023

Amogy has announced plans to present an ammonia-powered, zero-emission tugboat in an inland waterway in late 2023. A diesel powered tugboat will be retrofitted with a 1 MW ammonia-to-power system for the demonstration.

Yara Clean Ammonia will provide renewable ammonia fuel for the demonstration. Other project partners include Seam and Unique Technical Solutions for electrical and systems integration, C-Job Naval Architects for ship design and ammonia system integration, and Feeney Shipyard in New York for retrofitting construction and engine removal. The United States Coast Guard and DNV will ensure close compliance with all maritime safety standards.

We’re incredibly proud of unveiling the first ammonia-powered vessel later this year — especially because of the hope, promise and anticipation that ammonia has built as a zero-emission fuel in the heavy transportation industry — specifically in regards to maritime shipping. This is the first milestone of many you will see from Amogy in accelerating the accessibility and scalability of clean energy in the global maritime industry. With successful demonstrations of our ammonia-powered drone, tractor and semi-truck under our belts, we look forward to presenting the first ammonia-powered ship in 2023, with a target to fully commercialize in 2024.

Seonghoon Woo, Amogy CEO in Amogy’s official press release, 6 March 2023

We are excited to be a part of Amogy’s tugboat project and to deliver green ammonia as a fuel for the world’s first vessel powered by ammonia. Yara Clean Ammonia plans to launch the world’s first Ammonia Bunker Network in Scandinavia, which is expected to expand YCA’s capacity to produce and ship ammonia globally.

Magnus Ankstrand, YCA President in Amogy’s official press release, 6 March 2023

DNV has been working with Amogy since December 2021, focusing on the safety aspects of the development of their ammonia system. A high-level feasibility study was executed in early 2022, and Amogy has shown great momentum in development from that point.

Hans-Christian Wintervoll, DNV’s Senior Consultant in Maritime Environmental Technology in Amogy’s official press release, 6 March 2023

A fast-paced technology scaling story

Since its inception in 2020, Amogy has achieved a fast-paced scaling process. In July 2021, a 5 KW version of their ammonia-to-power system was successfully tested in a drone. This was followed by a 100 KW version in a retrofitted John Deere tractor in June 2022. At the start of this year, Amogy successfully tested a 300 KW version of their ammonia-to-power system, producing about 900 KWh of energy in a Freightliner Cascadia semi-truck.