A new report from the World Bank and partners proposes a series of levers to help bridge the finance gap for clean hydrogen production projects. Although clean hydrogen projects emerging markets and developing countries account for 40% of the global pipeline and could attract investment of up to $100 billion per year, a significant finance gap exists to push these projects to “FEED-plus”.
New Oxford research finds that over 60% of global shipping fuel demands could be met by renewable ammonia in 2050, which can be achieved by targeting renewable ammonia fuel supplies at the “top 10 regional ports”. The team also predicts that conventional maritime fuel production could be replaced by a more “regionalised industry”, producing up to 750 million tons of renewable ammonia per year in tropical and sub-tropical countries.
As another year passes, AEA President Hans Vrijenhoef looks back on the successes of the year just past. Ammonia energy is now firmly on the radar in Europe - including the first projects dedicated to power generation. And, with so many import/export projects underway, now is the time to collaborate and kick start the growth of the industry.
Clarksons Research and DNV have provided their analysis of global ship orders for 2023. Last year saw the first orders for ammonia-fueled vessels, with container ships & car carriers dominating the order book for alternative fuel propulsion ships. But UMAS & the Global Maritime Forum warn that the current order book trajectory may only be a fifth of what is needed to achieve the IMO’s 2030 target for alternative fuel uptake.
Wärtsilä’s 4-stroke ammonia engine is now commercially available. Meanwhile, WinGD and CMB.TECH’s plan for newbuild vessels based on WinGD’s 72-bore ammonia engine design has been underwritten in partnership with China State Shipbuilding Corporation.
For our final episode of Maritime Ammonia Insights, we take stock of the progress of marine ammonia fuel to date, and ask what comes next. Meet Fürstenberg Maritime Advisory to learn about upcoming key decision points at the IMO, communications strategies for marine ammonia, current safety gaps, and priorities for 2024 as we work towards the first demonstrations of marine ammonia fuel.
For our final episode of Maritime Ammonia Insights, we asked our resident experts Sofia and Conor Fürstenberg Stott to provide their insights on the pathway forward for marine ammonia fuel. Discussion topics included challenges for overlaying alternative fuels onto the existing bunker industry, the importance of seafarers to the transition, and why we need to move beyond talking about competition between alternative fuel candidates.
A series of flagship hydrogen initiatives were launched at COP28 last month. The initiatives are headlined by a 37-country joint declaration on mutual recognition of certification schemes, a response to sustained calls for increased global regulatory consistency. Additionally, the new ISO methodology for calculating hydrogen emissions was unveiled, paving the way for harmonisation.