Images Credit : Amogy

The maritime sector is systemically searching for substitutes to replace fossil fuels in order to achieve its global climate targets. While passenger vehicles have extensively adopted battery electrification, maritime needs face more complex challenges due to long travel times, high power output demands, and trade-offs with cargo storage space. These factors necessitate energy-dense fuels for most classes of vessels. The current alternative fuels being explored include hydrogen, methanol, marine biofuels. And Ammonia. 

The last of these, Ammonia, has been identified as a ready solution for decarbonizing the maritime sector in the near term, thanks in part to its high energy density and existing global infrastructure for production and storage. A report by the Clean Air Task Force highlights that ammonia-fueled ships could achieve a 77% reduction in lifetime emissions compared to traditional heavy fuel oil vessels, while maintaining comparable operational costs. Moreover, when produced from renewable sources, ammonia becomes “green ammonia,” a zero-carbon fuel from production to use. This provides a fuel option that effectively eliminates CO2 emissions, thereby assisting ship owners meet the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) 2050 emissions reduction targets.

While ammonia can be used alongside a pilot fuel to release energy, for it to be a potentially zero-emissions fuel, ammonia needs to be converted into Hydrogen via a process called ammonia-cracking. Two issues are commonly associated with this approach:

Firstly, to produce Ammonia is a carbon intensive process: the production of ammonia via electrolysis has historically been dependent on the use of coal or natural gas, which is a carbon intensive process. Currently, 200 million tons of ammonia used annually are produced using natural gas. 

Secondly, producing Hydrogen from Ammonia is expensive and not viable for commercial entities. Producing hydrogen from ammonia involves reversing the Haber-Bosch process, which is generally considered inefficient and expensive. For instance, according to Thunder Said Energy, the production cost of using the Haber-Bosch process is typically around $400 per ton, making it unfeasible to extract hydrogen back out efficiently. 

So while the potential for Ammonia to become a zero-emissions fuel source for the maritime industry exists, the question of how it can be pragmatically adopted is still open for debate.

The good news is that academics and entrepreneurs tackling both issues head-on are starting to make significant progress in reducing the carbon footprint of ammonia production while simultaneously reducing the cost of Hydrogen production. 

For example, with the improved efficiency and availability of renewable energy sources along with developments in carbon capture technology, today three types of Ammonia are available:

1. Gray Ammonia – the production of Ammonia using coal or natural gas, and
2. Blue Ammonia – the production of Ammonia using coal or natural gas with the use of carbon capture technology which has the potential to be carbon neutral, and finally
3. Green Ammonia – the production of Ammonia via renewable energy which has the potential for net-zero emissions.

Improvements in the process of ammonia-cracking to produce hydrogen have also led to higher efficiency bringing the cost down to more attractive levels.

Take start-up Amogy, its name derived from the combination of Ammonia and energy. The company has developed an ammonia-to-power technology, which converts liquid ammonia into hydrogen and nitrogen. Amogy uses liquid Ammonia as a source of Hydrogen because of its storability and energy density. The core components of its system include:

1. Ammonia Storage: Ammonia is stored in liquid form, serving as a compact and efficient energy carrier. Amogy aims to source green Ammonia to ensure minimal environmental impact.
   
2. Ammonia Cracking: This involves heating the ammonia in the presence of a catalyst, which breaks it down into hydrogen and nitrogen. Amogy has developed a proprietary method that successfully allows for in-vehicle ammonia cracking to produce hydrogen at lower temperatures than previous methods.
   
3. Hydrogen Utilization: The produced hydrogen is then directed to fuel cells, where it reacts with oxygen from the air to generate electricity. This electrochemical reaction produces water as the only byproduct, resulting in zero greenhouse gas emissions. Amogy has developed a “proton exchange membrane fuel cell they call a “powerpack” which is a compact, modular, and integrated power system that can be placed on vessels and other vehicles.  
   
4. Energy Output: The electricity generated can be used to power various applications, particularly in heavy-duty transportation such as shipping, ports, trucks as well as in EV charging stations, and data centers,

Amogy is well-positioned to commercialize its ammonia-powered technology for broader applications moving into 2025 having recently raised a total of $150 million in its Series B funding which was led by SK Innovation and included investments from notable backers such as Temasek, Korea Zinc, Aramco Ventures, AP Ventures, MOL PLUS, Yanmar Ventures, Zeon Ventures and DCVC.

One of the key milestones the company has reached is piloting the first ammonia-powered, zero-emission maritime vessel, a tugboat retrofitted with Amogy’s ammonia-to-electric power system. The project highlights the potential of ammonia as a clean and scalable fuel for long-distance shipping and other heavy-duty transportation sectors. Amogy’s collaboration with companies like Trafigura also highlights the potential of scaling up ammonia-based solutions for broader use in the maritime industry. 

Critics of ammonia highlight the fuel’s safety risks as well as the potential environmental impact of methane and hydrogen slip into the atmosphere during various stages of it production and usage. However, when seen as a pathway to improving the maritime industry’s carbon footprint, few can deny that Ammonia presents a low hanging opportunity when compared to many of the alternatives being discussed today. The broader adoption of ammonia fuel systems such as Amogy’s could not only facilitate a transition to a more sustainable economy but also strengthen energy security in the face of growing demand for clean energy.

Source:

Amogy. (2024, July 29). Amogy. https://amogy.co/about/ 

Amogy demonstrates tugboat powered by Ammonia Cracking/Fuel Cell. (2024, September 23). The Maritime Executive. https://maritime-executive.com/article/amogy-demonstrates-tugboat-powered-by-ammonia-cracking-fuel-cell 

Amogy Inc. (2022, September 20). Amogy and Trafigura to research ammonia cracking technology as a facilitator to global hydrogen supply chains. GlobeNewswire News Room. https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2022/09/20/2519045/0/en/Amogy-and-Trafigura-to-research-ammonia-cracking-technology-as-a-facilitator-to-global-hydrogen-supply-chains.html

AWE International. (2024, January 24). CATF Reveals Economic and Environmental Benefits of Ammonia-fuelled Ships. https://www.awe.international/article/1858700/catf-reveals-economic-environmental-benefits-ammonia-fuelled-ships 

Bureau Veritas. (n.d.). Marine & Offshore: Ammonia. https://marine-offshore.bureauveritas.com/shipping-decarbonization/future-fuels/ammonia 

Bovenizer, N. (2024, February 12). Cracking ammonia: how Amogy is developing fuel for the future. Ship Technology. https://www.ship-technology.com/interviews/anastasija-kuprijanova-amogy-ammonia-qa/?cAf-view 

Kumar, A. (2023, February 9). Cost of manufacturing ammonia is cheaper compare to hydrogen as fuel ? Energy Central. https://energycentral.com/c/ec/cost-manufacturing-ammonia-cheaper-compare-hydrogen-fuel 

Marrin, P., & Moss, J. (2023). Ammonia as an Essential Energy Carrier for the Energy Transition (By Amogy). https://21660352.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/21660352/White%20Papers/Amogy%20White%20Paper%20Ammonia%20as%20an%20Essential%20Energy%20Carrier%20for%20the%20Energy%20Transition.pdf?utm_campaign=White%20paper%201%20-%20Ammonia%20as%20an%20Essential%20Energy%20Carrier&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8u9a7gxwc-NQyrx3xHPfJgtN1PzBQJVoLjJbGMzigdYfZmsiTyPkqPECJN1hswt1t5nixOrU0boU8rJBb-93gw5587uw&_hsmi=269091087&utm_content=269091087&utm_source=hs_automation

PR Newswire. (2023, March 22). Amogy Secures $139 Million Series B-1 Round of Funding, Moving the Transportation Industry Closer to Clean Energy. https://www.prnewswire.com/in/news-releases/amogy-secures-139-million-series-b-1-round-of-funding-moving-the-transportation-industry-closer-to-clean-energy-301778198.html 

PR Newswire. (2023, June 5). Amogy Increases Series B Round to $150M. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/amogy-increases-series-b-round-to-150m-301841571.html 

Thunder Said Energy. (2023, June 13). Ammonia: production costs and energy economics? https://thundersaidenergy.com/downloads/ammonia-synthesis-the-economics/

Zhang, J., Anderson, T. N., & Smith, L. D. (2022). Decarbonizing the Heavy-Duty Transport Sector Using Ammonia Fuel. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 47(45), 19756-19767. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2022.03.145 

Zhang, S. (2024, September 30). Amogy: Leveraging ammonia as a clean energy solution is key to industry’s decarbonization efforts. SAFETY4SEA. https://safety4sea.com/cm-amogy-leveraging-ammonia-as-a-clean-energy-solution-is-key-to-industrys-decarbonization-efforts/

Contributor : Vanisa Andienisara

Reviewer : Imam Buchari