The shipping industry transports around 90 % of global trade and is therefore responsible for around three per cent of global carbon dioxide emissions. Reason enough to conduct research into ammonia as one of several alternative fuels.
Test phase
MAN Energy Solutions (MAN ES) is planning to install the first ammonia-fuelled engine on a new ship in Japan before the end of this year. The subsequent testing of the dual-fuel engine will take one to two years. If the two-stroke ammonia marine engine is successfully tested, MAN will have reached a milestone, but at the same time intensive investments will have to be made in fuel supply and bunker infrastructure and further safety standards will have to be created, according to the MAN ES CEO, who is also a member of the German government's National Hydrogen Council.
MAN ES test centre in Dessau-Rosslau researches alternative fuels such as hydrogen, ammonia and methanol. Photo: MAN ES
Mindset
At the beginning of March, MAN ES opened a 20 million euro workshop in Singapore, the largest outside Europe. The aim is to maintain and repair existing fleets and convert them to dual-fuel engines. To this end, the company plans to increase the number of employees in Singapore from the current 250 to up to 500. This is because the biggest challenge is to deal with the existing fleets and train customers on how to operate dual-fuel engines more efficiently. Depending on the age, value and engine type of the ship, MAN ES estimates that 3,000 to 5,000 of the 20,000 ships worldwide with MAN engines can be retrofitted to burn alternative fuels, with a conversion package costing between 25 and 50 million dollars.
Infrastructure
Whether it is the production and distribution of green ammonia, harbour filling stations or tanker facilities, in order to reach a significant scale by 2030, not only the political will but also significant investment in infrastructure development is required in all areas.
Container handling in the port of Hamburg. Photo: Federal Environment Agency
Regulations
The classification societies currently lack clear rules for the design of an ammonia system on ships. And in cooperation with the port authorities, including in Singapore, the world's largest hub for refuelling ships, the uncomplicated bunkering of ammonia must be ensured. Although ammonia does not contain carbon, it is toxic and requires strict safety measures. MAN ES therefore does not anticipate the actual sale of ammonia engines before the end of the decade.
Conclusion
Alongside mtu, MAN has now also developed a test engine with an alternative fuel that could help to reduce emissions and slow down global warming. For shipowners, this development represents a real alternative, as it would otherwise mean scrapping all functioning fossil-fuelled combustion engines or even entire ships from 2035.
marineforum.online reported on 11.04.2023 about mtu/Rolls-Royce: The combustion engine is dead, long live the combustion engine.
Source: gCaptain, Federal Environment Agency
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