ENGIMMONIA, an EU-backed project aimed at cutting carbon emissions on board ships, aims to make ammonia a viable alternative fuel for the shipping industry
The project is primarily focused on two areas: spearheading the global switch from traditional shipping fuels to ammonia and increasing adoption of clean energy technology including energy management systems, waste-heat recovery systems, and renewables in the shipping sector.
The project will see the MAN ES ammonia engine installed and demonstrated in three vessels. Demonstrations of the ongoing research would be performed using the MAN engines that will be installed on oil tanker Famous; Anek, a ferry; and Danaos, a container ship.
Italy’s RINA, with the help of 21 project partners spread across nine EU member countries, has been leading the programme. The project has received a grant of €9.5M (US$11.2M) from the European Union, with a target of achieving long-term decarbonisation in the industry.
The project began 1 May 2021 and aims to run until late April 2025.
The global shipping industry is considered a major contributor to the climate crisis, and with pressure mounting on the sector to decarbonise and start cutting the use of fossil fuels, ammonia is emerging as a potential option for a fuel change. Vessels configured with ammonia-burning internal combustion engines are expected to contribute to the IMO-driven goal of decreasing carbon dioxide emissions by at least half of shipping’s 2008 levels by 2050.
Green ammonia, which is produced via electrolysis from renewable or nuclear energy – could provide a zero-emissions fuel, if NOx emissions are properly handled.
Ammonia is safer to store and carry than hydrogen, with the latter requiring pressure tanks or cryogenic dewars for storage.
One of ENGIMMONIA’s project partners is METIS Cybersecurity Technology, which will be developing digital services to obtain data from all the onboard instruments of the vessels involved. The data collected on operational efficiency and environmental performance will be analysed by project partners to study its economic viability.
METIS Cyberspace Technology marketing manager Andreas Symeonidis said, “Efficiency and sustainability are at the heart of everything we do at METIS, so it is an honour to be chosen as minimiser for a project that seeks to enhance the performance and minimise the carbon footprint of the European shipping sector.”
The project is funded by the European Commission in the framework of Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme Grant Agreement 955413 and includes big European names such as C-JOB, MAN and RINA.
Many notable players in the marine energy sector are gearing up for a multi-fuel future, with predictions that companies would be maintaining a fleet propelled by a varied portfolio of renewable fuels in the near future.
Riviera’s Carbon Capture & Storage Webinar Week will focus on large-scale CO2 shipping and terminals, safety and the pathway to new fuels.
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