MOL, JERA to develop ammonia carrier
MITSUI O.S.K. Lines Ltd. (MOL), one of the largest shipping companies in the world, will team up with JERA to develop a large ammonia carrier and establish a safe transport system.
In the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between MOl and JERA, a study will be launched on transporting ammonia for use as fuel, including shipments to JERA’s Hekinan Power Station in Aichi Prefecture.
Ammonia is currently mainly used as a raw material for fertilizers, and the amount of ammonia transported by sea is limited. But with ammonia emerging as a nextgeneration clean energy source that does not emit carbon dioxide during combustion, large-scale demand for ammonia is expected in the future, particularly for cofiring and as a hydrogen carrier in coal-fired power plants.
The two companies will collaborate to establish a method of transporting ammonia as a fuel for power generation, aiming to establish the world’s first supply chain for fuel ammonia.
The MoU also covers the development of fuel-ammonia carriers suitable for domestic thermal power plants and receiving stations; the building of fuel-ammonia transportation and receiving systems; the installation and operation of propulsion engines that use ammonia as ship fuel; and working with related parties to foster the formation of rules related to the reception of fuel ammonia.
Under the “MOl Group Environmental Vision 2.1,” the group is working to reduce and decarbonize ship fuel to achieve net zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050. MOL continually promotes the conversion to ammonia fuel for vessels and will successively introduce approximately 110 netzero emission ocean-going vessels by 2035 as an initiative to “adopt clean alternative fuels” toward the realization of the target.
“The MOl group will promote the reduction of GHG emissions from its own business operations and from society as a whole through its concerted efforts, contribute to the decarbonization of energy, and strive to establish a supply chain of green fuels, including ammonia fuel,” MOL said in a statement.