The second phase of the NoGAPS project is well underway. Led by the Maersk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping, a detailed plan for the design, operation and business case for the future MS NoGAPS vessel will be developed. Construction and delivery is expected in 2024-25. Also in Scandinavia, Viridis Bulk Carriers has been awarded AiP from Bureau Veritas for its ammonia-fueled, short-sea, bulk carrier design.

ENGIE has successfully reached a final investment decision on Project Yuri. The collaboration with Yara will see renewable hydrogen feedstock produced next door to Yara’s existing ammonia & fertiliser production facility in Karratha, Western Australia, with construction to commence this year, and production of renewable hydrogen to begin in 2024.

In further developments, Yuri has new stakeholders, with Mitsui & Co. securing a 28% interest stake in Yuri, and Technip Energy being selected to lead EPCC works. And in certification news, the Smart Energy Council also announced it has granted pre-certification for renewable hydrogen & ammonia production from Project Yuri, under the Zero Carbon Certification Scheme.

Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC and UK-based Carlyle will both invest in the development of Eneus Energy’s renewable ammonia project pipeline, with plants in the US and UK planned. The Maritime & Port Authority Singapore and Port of Rotterdam have agreed to establish a green maritime corridor by 2027. The agreement will help accelerate the deployment of alternative maritime fuels like ammonia on the critical shipping route, which links two of the world’s largest bunkering ports. And a trio of organisations - PaxOcean Engineering, Hong Lam Marine and Bureau Veritas will jointly develop an ammonia bunkering vessel design.

Two recent reports (one from Bureau Veritas & Total, the other from the Together in Safety consortium) illustrate just how seriously the maritime industry is pursuing low carbon ammonia fuel. While progress in the maritime ammonia space is impressive, safety risks are widely-acknowledged and work remains to be done.

Both reports identify key hazards facing adoption of ammonia as a maritime fuel, and echo points heard before in the development of methanol & LNG as maritime fuels: high-risk hazards currently exist that must be eliminated, mitigated or controlled. But Together in Safety concludes the way forward will be via collaboration & shared responsibility - something we’re already seeing in the multiple high-profile safety studies and consortia working around the globe. Thankfully, the willingness of significant maritime players to engage on ammonia and the momentum for change are both high.

Rio Tinto and AngloEastern have announced they will develop Newcastlemax class, ammonia-powered bulk carriers. The dry cargo vessels will be the maximum size allowed to dock in the Port of Newcastle, Australia: an important coal & iron ore port in global maritime trade. Both AngloEastern and Rio Tinto are members of an Itochu-led maritime fuel study investigating the use of ammonia. In Japan, a "greener ships" consortium has produced its first-ever ammonia-powered design: a Panamax-class bulk carrier. And the China State Shipbuilding Corporation will develop two 93,000 m3 ammonia-powered ammonia carrier vessels, with Bureau Veritas granting AiP for the vessel design.

Two announcements this week: i) Samsung Heavy Industries and Wärtsilä have agreed to jointly to develop new-build vessels with 4-stroke, ammonia-fueled auxiliary engines; and ii) Bureau Veritas has awarded Approval in Principle to Hyundai Heavy Industries and KSOE for their new, ammonia-fueled vessel design.

Welcome to the Ammonia Wrap: a summary of all the latest announcements, news items and publications about ammonia energy. There's so much news this edition that we're bringing you two, special Wrap articles. Our second focuses on maritime ammonia & supply chain development. This week: Bureau Veritas releases "Ammonia-Prepared" notation, Höegh Autoliners' ammonia-powered car-carrier to hit the water by 2023, Yara and JERA to collaborate, Japan's Kobe Port moves towards hydrogen and ammonia, New partners for Itochu/Vopak study in Singapore, and a new Voltachem ammonia study shows need for cross-border cooperation in EU.

Last month brought news of "the world’s first ammonia ready vessel.” According to an American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) press release, the vessel, currently under construction in China, will comply “with the ABS Ammonia Ready Level 1 requirements, indicating it is designed to be converted to run on ammonia in the future.” When completed, the 274-meter ship (and possibly two others of identical design) will join the fleet of Avin International.

Last week, I wrote about a crucial new report that discusses four fuel technologies: batteries, hydrogen, ammonia, and nuclear. These could reduce the shipping sector's emissions in line with targets set in the IMO's Initial GHG Strategy. The report, Reducing CO2 Emissions to Zero, concludes that "all industry stakeholders ... need to get on with the job of developing zero CO2 fuels." This call to action should be consequential: it comes from the International Chamber of Shipping, an influential industry group that represents "more than 80% of the world merchant fleet." This week, I provide an example of the kind of research required, with an update on a project that aims to demonstrate "the technical feasibility and cost effectiveness of an ammonia tanker fueled by its own cargo." Although this project is still in its early days, I want to highlight three aspects that I believe will be crucial to its success. First, the work is being done by a consortium, bringing together many industry stakeholders, each with its own expertise and commercial interests. Second, the scope of research extends beyond conventional engine configurations to include not just new fuels but also new technology combinations; in other words, rather than assess new fuels in old engines, it aims to develop optimized propulsion designs for zero-emission fuels. And, third, its consideration of ammonia as a fuel begins with a comprehensive safety analysis.