Lloyd’s Register: how ammonia can be the ideal renewable marine fuel
By on March 18, 2020
We’ve recently reported a series of ammonia-fueled vessel development and demonstration projects led by industry consortia. One of these, in which Lloyd’s Register is joined by Samsung Heavy Industries, MISC, and MAN Energy Solutions, is developing “an ammonia-fueled tanker.”
In an interview with Ship Technology magazine this month, Paul Carrett (Global Brand & External Relations Senior Co-ordinator at Lloyd’s Register) provided some new details about this project and added context for their ammonia-fueled vessel development plans. The article asks (but doesn’t answer) a new question: “While this will be first tested on tankers, the question lies whether it can be a potential choice for cruise ships.”
Zero-emission vessels need to enter the fleet by 2030 at the latest if the maritime industry is to successfully meet the IMO ambitions of at least 50% reduction in greenhouse gases by 2050 …
Zero-emission vessels development needs full-scale prototypes and pilot studies now, exploiting any available opportunities that can enable early adoption … The target date for approval in the principle of the design is September this year. MAN has a plan in place for the development of the engine and the engine is planned to be available in 2024 …
Achieving net zero will predominantly be an operating expense rather than a capital expenditure challenge – ships will have to adapt, potentially requiring new fuel tanks, modified engines and fuel supply systems, but this will be a very small element of the total cost of operation …
In the future, we expect to see a diverse range of zero-carbon technologies [and] fuels deployed across the world’s fleet. Ammonia is just one of the pathways towards zero-carbon emitting vessels.
Paul Carrett, quoted in Q&A: Lloyd’s Register on how ammonia can be the ideal renewable marine fuel, Ship Technology, March 10, 2020
To learn more about these recent ammonia-fueled vessel demonstration projects, search our archive of Ammonia Energy articles about Lloyd’s Register.
For more details regarding the statement that “achieving net zero will predominantly be an operating expense rather than a capital expenditure challenge,” see our article on the recent UMAS / Global Maritime Forum analysis: Maritime decarbonization is a trillion dollar opportunity.