Singapore conducts world's first marine fuel use of ammonia with diesel for combustion

Singapore is the first in the world to use ammonia, along with diesel for combustion, as a marine fuel in its waters, Fortescue and the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore said in a joint statement March 15.

This milestone comes after the world's largest bunkering port carried out the world's first ship to container ship methanol bunkering operation in July 2023 and implemented digital bunkering operations from November 2023.

As part of a seven-week trial, Fortescue's Singapore-flagged dual-fueled ship -- the Green Pioneer -- was loaded with 3 mt of liquid ammonia from Vopak's Banyan terminal in the city-state, Fortescue and the MPA said. The trial was conducted by Fortescue with support from MPA, government agencies, research institutes and industry partners, they added.

After completion of the trial, the ship received flag approval from the Singapore Registry of Ships and the "gas-fueled ammonia" notation by classification society DNV to use ammonia, combined with diesel, as a marine fuel.

"The safe conduct of this fuel trial supports the holistic assessment of the use of ammonia as a marine fuel and the development of standards and safety procedures," MPA Chief Executive Teo Eng Dih said.

"This will inform the crew training, emergency and bunkering procedures that MPA, agencies and the tripartite community are developing in support of making available safe and cost-efficient solutions," Teo added.

Rigorous testing

The trial included rigorous testing of the ship's ammonia storage systems, piping, gas fuel delivery system, retrofitted engines and seaworthiness, MPA and Fortescue said. Crew and engineers have also completed relevant training since October 2023.

Another 3 mt of liquid ammonia will be loaded onto the ship for further tests and trials "over the next few weeks," they added.

MPA and Fortescue said key learning points from the trials will be presented on suitable platforms as well as in international forums in the future.

This comes as Singapore aims to develop ammonia bunkering standards by 2025.

The city-state is also currently picking a lead developer for an ammonia power generation and bunkering solution on Jurong Island in a closed request for proposal exercise from shortlisted consortia.

The solution is expected to help Singapore develop regulations to support ammonia bunkering and act as a pathfinder project to develop a hydrogen supply chain in the city-state under its National Hydrogen Strategy.

Singapore, which aims to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, said low-carbon hydrogen could meet up to half of its power needs by midcentury under the strategy and that hydrogen and its derivatives could help decarbonize international aviation and maritime transportation.

Bright prospects

"The Fortescue Green Pioneer is proof that safe, technical solutions for ammonia power engines exist," Chairman Fortescue Andrew Forrest AO said, while urging ports to develop fair, safe and stringent fuel standards for green ammonia.

"We must push to see global emitters paying fair carbon prices for heavy fuels used in traditional shipping. These prices must provide clear investment signals to drive green investment," he added.

Meanwhile, some industry experts during the Asia Pacific Maritime 2024 event in Singapore March 15 noted that among the gamut of alternative fuels being developed, ammonia held great potential to accelerate shipping's decarbonization pathway.

Ammonia as a marine fuel offers significant reduction in CO2 emissions, almost zero sulfur oxide emissions and similar reductions in nitrogen oxide and particulate matter emissions, according to industry participants.

Although ammonia's toxicity and corrosiveness are major concerns when the fuel is used for bunkering, these hurdles could be addressed by preparedness as well as technological breakthroughs, they said, noting that the research community was looking to produce green ammonia at low pressure, low or even ambient temperatures.

"There will be a significant demand for ammonia because of demand for hydrogen in many countries for power production. So, far I have not seen a cost effective way of transporting hydrogen as compressed or as liquid," an industry source said at the APM 2024, adding that the number of ammonia carriers was set to spike in future.

Future share of fuel mix

LNG boils off naturally during transportation, making a case for LNG carriers to use this boil off to power the vessel. Similarly, an increasing number of ammonia carriers would translate to an enhanced use of ammonia as a bunker fuel, boosting its share in the marine fuel mix, he said.

Analysts at S&P Global, in their latest Freight Markets Bunker Forecast March 7, estimated that in the reference case, overall bunker fuel demand for 2050 was set to be around 300 million mt.

In their 2050 bunker consumption split for the higher alternative fuel uptake case, all alternative fuels excluding LNG and LPG will likely comprise 39% of the bunker fuel mix. Of this, ammonia's share as a marine fuel is expected to be 38%, they said.