Vopak Singapore will explore options to expand ammonia infrastructure at its Banyan terminal on Jurong Island, Singapore. Vopak has been investigating infrastructure upgrades to enable maritime ammonia bunker fuel in Singapore since 2020, and will invest €1 billion by 2030 into “new energies”, including low-carbon and renewable hydrogen & ammonia. In the Netherlands, Vopak is currently converting two existing refrigerated LPG storage tanks to receive ammonia imports at the North Sea port of Vlissingen.

Syzygy Plasmonics, LOTTE and Sumitomo Corporation of Americas announced they will join forces to deploy & test Syzygy’s fully-electric, photocatalytic ammonia cracking reactor at LOTTE Chemical’s HQ in Ulsan, South Korea. Syzygy’s reactor technology uses light from ultra-high-efficiency LEDs to crack ammonia into zero-carbon hydrogen, eliminating combustion emissions usually associated with chemical manufacturing. The announcement is one of several new ammonia collaborations this week, with LOTTE, ITOCHU and Sasol all announcing new agreements.

A consortium led by Sembcorp Marine has been granted AiP by the American Bureau of Shipping for a new ammonia bunkering vessel design. Sembcorp and its subsidiary LMG Marin (who was recently engaged by Grieg Maritime and Wartsila to design the MS Green Ammonia) were responsible for the design phase, which passed a rigorous HAZID assessment with support from the American Bureau of Shipping. Consortium partners also include Mitsui O.S.K. Lines and Itochu, two organisations with growing ammonia interests in Singapore. The new announcement is one of a number of ammonia & ammonia-ready bunkering designs in progress, with Korean Register, Oceania, Kanfer, Azane Fuel Solutions and the Korean Green Ammonia Shipping/Bunkering Consortium all at various stages of progress with their designs.

As reported at Ammonia Energy in May, Abu Dhabi Ports and Helios Industry are developing the UAE's first renewable ammonia plant. The 200,000 tonnes per year, green ammonia facility in Abu Dhabi will be powered by a 800 MW solar farm, with Helios investing $1 billion in the plant's construction. The project has a new partner, with thyssenkrupp signing an agreement to perform a technical feasibility study on a plant based on thyssenkrupp's electrolysis technology.

In early June, Itochu was part of a group of 23 founding signatories that kicked off a joint study into the feasibility of ammonia as a maritime fuel. This week that group has grown to 34. It now includes significant stakeholders from a diverse range of sectors: energy, mining, steel, power utility, chemicals manufacturing & distribution, shipbuilding, maritime terminals, maritime classification societies and of course maritime fuel production, supply & distribution.

Woodside Energy, JOGMEC, Marubeni and two Japanese power utilities signed a joint research agreement this week to investigate the feasibility of a blue ammonia supply chain between Australia and Japan.

This week: a roadmap for ammonia-fueled gas turbines in Asia, ammonia solutions in Iceland, IMO sets new decarbonisation milestone, new ammonia-powered vessels planned, maritime study developments, Australian updates (Fortescue, AREH and Itochu in Gladstone), Fertiglobe joins Abu Dhabi blue ammonia project and Statkraft's Porsgrunn plans.

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.

Welcome to the Ammonia Wrap: a summary of all the latest announcements, news items and publications about ammonia energy. This week: new Japanese developments, new AiP for ammonia-fueled vessel, Singapore bunkering study, new ammonia from wastewater initiative, Fortescue brings carbon neutrality goals forward to 2030, Australian project updates for Hazer and H2U, and H2Pro updates from Israel.

Two recent announcements show Singapore emerging as a center for development of ammonia as a maritime fuel. In both cases, multi-party coalitions, with Singaporean connections, are focusing on ground-breaking work.

Last week, Itochu Corporation announced an agreement with Vopak, the oil and chemical storage tank and terminal operator, "to jointly study the feasibility of developing an infrastructure" at Vopak's Banyan Terminal, leading to the "establishment of supply chain of ammonia marine fuel in Singapore."

At least four major maritime ammonia projects have been announced in the last few weeks, each of which aims to demonstrate an ammonia-fueled vessel operating at sea. In Norway, Color Fantasy, the world's largest RORO cruise liner, will pilot ammonia fuel. Across the broader Nordic region, the Global Maritime Forum has launched NoGAPS, a major consortium that aims to deploy "the world's first ammonia powered deep sea vessel" by 2025. In Japan, a new industry consortium has launched that goes beyond on-board ship technology to include "owning and operating the ships, supplying ammonia fuel and developing ammonia supply facilities." And the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT), which published its roadmap last month, aims to demonstrate ammonia fuel on "an actual ship from 2028" — specifically, a 80,000 dwt ammonia-fueled bulk carrier.