The Viking Energy, an oil platform provide shippresent process a pioneering retrofit to run on ammonia gas, is now scheduled to start operations in 2026—two years later than initially deliberate. As soon as accomplished, will probably be the primary vessel able to working full-time on ammonia, marking a serious milestone in efforts to cut back carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions within the maritime trade.
IEEE Spectrum beforehand reported on ammonia as a potential replacement for petroleum fuels within the transport trade in 2021, at which era key stakeholders—together with Norwegian power giant Equinor, know-how supplier Wärtsilä, and transport firm Eidesvik Offshore—anticipated the Viking Power to set sail in 2024. Nevertheless, progress has slowed.
Business specialists attribute the delay to the advanced infrastructure required to deal with ammonia safely. “Ammonia is poisonous, explosive, and corrosive. We should use particular piping, storage tanks, and vans outfitted with supplies engineered to be each leakproof and proof against ammonia’s corrosive properties,” says John Prousalidis, a professor of marine engineering on the National Technical University of Athens. (Equinor, Wärtsilä, and Eidesvik Offshore didn’t reply to requests for remark.)
One of many greatest environmental issues with ammonia-powered ships is the potential launch of nitrogen oxides. “As a substitute of CO2, which contributes to global warming, we might find yourself with nitrogen oxides, that are deadly to breathe,” says Prousalidis. “To keep away from merely swapping one pollutant for one more, ammonia propulsion techniques should embrace emissions-control applied sciences to stop dangerous nitrogen oxides from getting into the ambiance,” he provides.
A promising different to combustion engines is ammonia-powered fuel cells, which generate electrical energy with out producing nitrogen oxide emissions. By avoiding combustion completely, these gas cells permit ammonia’s nitrogen content material to stay in its inert kind, eliminating a key well being threat.
Ammonia Gas Delays for Viking Power
Regardless of the challenges, specialists imagine ammonia might develop into a mainstream maritime gas—however not in a single day. “Twenty or thirty years in the past, the transport trade made a serious shift to natural gas, believing it was the gas of the long run. Now, we all know it wasn’t the proper step,” says Prousalidis.
Wanting again at previous gas transitions, he famous that every shift—from steam to grease, after which to pure gasoline—took round 20 years to attain full adoption. He expects the same timeline for the adoption of ammonia or hydrogen. “We should be affected person whereas persisting in our efforts and never getting discouraged by early challenges.”
That perspective aligns with what Equinor’s vice chairman of renewable and low-carbon know-how, Henriette Undrum, instructed IEEE Spectrum in 2021 when she urged the general public to be affected person: “We’re not simply fixing one small downside for one ship. It’s a part of the larger image. Will probably be a place to begin to construct up the marketplace for zero-carbon fuels.”
Eidesvik’s ammonia-powered Viking Power is now slated to ship out in 2026.Eidesvik
As ammonia and hydrogen acquire traction as maritime fuels, seaports might play a pivotal position in in fixing ammonia’s chicken-and-egg downside. Power corporations are cautious of investing in different gas infrastructure when there aren’t any ships that run on the brand new gas, and shipbuilders are need to keep away from shelling out a whole lot of hundreds of thousands of {dollars} to construct vessels for which there isn’t any regular gas provide.
“Seaports are already present process an power transformation,” says Prousalidis. “It could make sense for them to function as power hubs—producing, storing, and buying and selling alternative fuels for gas cells and different power-generation units.” By doing so, he says, ports might flip a revenue whereas additionally breaking the stalemate and contributing to international decarbonization efforts.
Though issues about nitrogen oxide emissions stay, corporations together with the partnership that’s retrofitting the Viking Powerare reportedly designing post-combustion techniques, analogous to the catalytic converters in car exhaust techniques, to filter out dangerous byproducts. A way referred to as selective catalytic discount converts nitrogen oxides into nitrogen and water. Ammonia slip catalysts seize unburned ammonia and break it down into the identical two inert merchandise.
In the meantime, momentum for ammonia- primarily based propulsion continues to construct. Hanwha Ocean, a shipbuilder primarily based in Geoje, South Korea and Houston-based power know-how firm Baker Hughes have introduced a partnership to develop a commercial ammonia-compatible propulsion system by 2027. The businesses are engaged on gas turbines able to operating on one hundred pc ammonia, with dual-fuel choices for pure gasoline.
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