Alternative Fuels

LR: Ammonia powered Joint Development Project named: ‘The Castor Initiative’

The naming of the project is significant as Castor is the second-brightest star in the Gemini constellation, but actually consists of six stars which appear as one, it said.

Published

4 years ago

February 26, 2021

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UK-based classification society Lloyd’s Register (LR) on Wednesday (24 February) said little more than a year after a Joint Development Project (JDP) to develop an ammonia-fuelled tanker design was launched by LR, MISC Berhad, MAN Energy Solutions (MAN) and Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI), the partners have received a welcome boost.

Yara International ASA, a giant Norwegian chemicals company and major ammonia producer, and the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) have signed up to join what has been named ‘The Castor Initiative’, taking the JDP partnership to six.

The naming of the project is significant, noted LR. Castor is the second-brightest star in the Gemini constellation, but actually consists of six stars which appear as one.

In a webinar yesterday hosted by Randall Krantz, a Senior Project Adviser at the Getting to Zero Coalition, the partners revealed that they are on track to design, build, and commission the world’s first ammonia-fuelled tanker by 2025.

Since the project began in January 2020, LR has made significant progress in early safety appraisals and research into the development of suitable fuel storage and supply systems, and the necessary risk assessments that will be required.

“Demonstrators like this are critical for 2050,” said LR’s Marine and Offshore Director, Mark Darley.

“Zero-carbon vessels are a reality and need to enter the fleet by 2030. They will be ready before the shoreside infrastructure. But we will all learn from this project, and others like it, which will help in future developments and save money in the longer term.”

Meanwhile, MAN has made considerable progress in identifying the engineering parameters that will need to be adapted to use ammonia as a fuel in an internal combustion engine.

Brian Østergaard Sørensen, a MAN Vice President and Head of Research & Development into two-stroke engines, confirmed that the technology is available and ammonia is an interesting fuel option.

Conceding that there are certainly safety challenges relating to its use as a marine fuel, he said that the chemical is relatively easy to handle, already widely shipped by sea and well-known in the industry.

SHI is already working on the design of a tanker and will build the vessel when the time comes. The shipbuilder’s Vice President of Shipbuilding & Drilling Sales Engineering, Haeki Jang, emphasised the importance of a first demonstrator vessel as a means of minimising uncertainty. The project, he said, was essential to identify challenges along the way.

MISC will own and operate the tanker. The Group’s President and Chief Executive, Yee Yang Chien, highlighted the fact that the project involves different stakeholders with a common goal. The collaboration is encouraging, he said, because the industry needs “multiple parallel initiatives” like this.

The partners emphasised the importance of the new members. With Yara International, the six-party collaboration now includes one of the world’s largest ammonia producers and a pioneer in the development of green ammonia, which is produced without using any carbon-related energy.

Rob Stevens, the company’s Vice President of Ammonia Energy and Shipping, joined the webinar after Yara’s involvement had been announced. “Ammonia can be an enabler in the energy transition and especially towards zero-emission shipping,” he declared.

The company has been producing fertilisers using renewable energy for many decades, he revealed, and has successfully produced green ammonia in the past. The company plans to re-start green ammonia production, he said, and its experience in addressing the risk of emissions at its ammonia plants would contribute knowledge to the JDP.

Meanwhile, Singapore’s MPA will add its expertise to safety regulations relating to ammonia infrastructure and bunkering operations.

LR notes the partners recognise that even more collaboration is needed to complete the chain, not only in this project, but in shipping’s decarbonisation process generally. MISC’s Yee Yang Chien welcomed the new participants but pointed out that shipping’s banks, financiers and customers also “need to join hands with us”.

Photo credit: Lloyd’s Register
Published: 26 February, 2021

LNG Bunkering

New MOL vessel to be supplied LNG bunker fuel in Japan before voyage to Australia

After departing from Saijo Shipyard, LNG fuel will be supplied directly to “Verde Heraldo” through shore-to-ship bunkering at Senboku Terminal of Osaka Gas, and is then scheduled to sail for Australia.

Published

9 hours ago

April 22, 2025

Admin

New MOL vessel to be supplied LNG bunker fuel in Japan before voyage to Australia

Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) on Friday (18 April) said the naming and delivery ceremony for the LNG-fuelled Capesize bulker, which MOL ordered for JFE Steel Corporation, was held at the Saijo Shipyard of Imabari Shipbuilding.

The vessel was named the Verde Heraldo, which means “Green Pioneer” in Spanish, by JFE Steel President and CEO Masayuki Hirose. MOL executives including President & CEO Hashimoto were also on hand for the ceremony.

After departing from Saijo Shipyard, LNG fuel will be supplied directly to the vessel through shore-to-ship bunkering at the Senboku Terminal of Osaka Gas, and is then scheduled to sail for Australia.

The Verde Heraldo will sail under long-term transport contracts to supply raw materials for JFE Steel's mills, providing both reduced environmental impact and safe and reliable marine transport services.

About Verde Heraldo

LOA: 299.99 m
Breadth: 50.00 m
Draft: 18.436 m
Deadweight tonnage: 210,321 tonnes
Shipyards: Imabari Shipbuilding and Nihon Shipyard

Photo credit: Mitsui OSK Lines
Published: 22 April, 2025

Alternative Fuels

Indonesia and HDF Energy partner to study hydrogen solutions for maritime decarbonisation

Agreement between HDF Energy, Indonesia’s Ministry of Transportation, PLN and ASDP outlined a joint study to decarbonise Indonesia’s maritime sector using locally produced green hydrogen.

Published

9 hours ago

April 22, 2025

Admin

Indonesia and HDF Energy partner to study hydrogen solutions for maritime decarbonisation

PT HDF Energy Indonesia, a subsidiary of French hydrogen infrastructure developer HDF Energy, recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Indonesia’s Ministry of Transportation (MoT), state-owned electric utility PT PLN (Persero) and ferry operator PT ASDP Indonesia Ferry (Persero).

The agreement outlined a joint study to decarbonise Indonesia's maritime sector using locally produced green hydrogen. The study will be conducted in collaboration with, and co-funded by, the International Maritime Organization (IMO).

The MoU was signed during the Global Hydrogen Ecosystem Summit on April 15, 2025 in Indonesia.

The study will focus on Eastern Indonesia, a region with plenty of sun and home to many of ASDP's strategic ferry routes. HDF Energy is currently developing 23 Renewstable® hydrogen power plants in the region. These facilities combine a solar park with substantial on-site energy storage in the form of green hydrogen to provide non-intermittent, stable and 100% clean electricity to the grid, day and night.

By generating surplus green hydrogen at a competitive marginal cost, Renewstable® plants also pave the way for the supply of green hydrogen to decarbonise maritime transport. The hydrogen produced will be used to power the high-power fuel cells developed and manufactured by HDF Energy in France, a modular, reliable solution tailored to the conversion of maritime fleets.

With this project, HDF Energy is deploying an integrated approach: producing competitive green hydrogen locally and offering a zero-emission maritime vessels' propulsion solution based on its fuel cells.

ASDP, which operates one of the world's largest ferry networks, plays a critical role in connecting Indonesia's remote islands. As a key player in the maritime sector's energy transition, the company will contribute to the study to identify opportunities for converting its fleet and port infrastructures. The aim is to replace traditional diesel engines with solutions based on green hydrogen and renewable electricity, in order to significantly reduce emissions.

PLN has already taken a proactive role in launching hydrogen pilot projects across the country. The company previously signed an MoU with HDF Energy to accelerate the deployment of Renewstable® hydrogen power plants as a green alternative to diesel-based power — a collaboration representing potential investments of up to USD 2.3 billion, supported by international development institutions including the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC).

On the same occasion, HDF also signed an MoU with PT Pelayaran Bahtera Adhiguna (PT BAg), a national shipping company specialising in sea transportation services for primary energy distribution across Indonesia. The partnership reflects a joint commitment to assessing hydrogen as a clean alternative to power auxiliary systems on large vessels.

Mathieu Geze, HDF Energy's Director for APAC and President Director of PT HDF Energy Indonesia, stated: “We are proud to reaffirm our commitment to a Net Zero emission future through this strategic collaboration. Working together with PLN, ASDP, the Ministry of Transportation, and with PT Bag, we aim to place Indonesia at the forefront of green hydrogen innovation in the Asia-Pacific. Our fuel cells represent a decisive step forward in the decarbonization of maritime transport in the Indonesian archipelago, as well as a formidable showcase for French innovation on the international stage.”

On a regional scale, this partnership in Indonesia is part of HDF Energy's development drive in Southeast Asia.

On 11 April, in the Philippines, HDF signed a MoU with the Department of Transportation to harness green hydrogen—produced by HDF's Renewstable® power plants currently under development—to power the next generation of hydrogen-fuelled maritime vessels.

The following day in Vietnam, HDF entered into a strategic partnership with ACST, an organisation affiliated with the Ministry of Construction, to advance green hydrogen solutions, including the retrofitting of diesel ferries with HDF's hydrogen fuel cells.

Photo credit: HDF Energy
Published: 22 April, 2025

Biofuel

Argus Media: IMO incentive to shape bio-bunker choices

IMO proposal for ship owners who exceed emissions reduction targets to earn surplus credits will play a key role in biofuel bunkering options going forward.

Published

9 hours ago

April 22, 2025

Admin

An International Maritime Organization (IMO) proposal for ship owners who exceed emissions reduction targets to earn surplus credits will play a key role in biofuel bunkering options going forward.

22 April 2025

The price of these credits will help determine whether B30 or B100 becomes the preferred bio-bunker fuel for vessels not powered by LNG or methanol. It will also influence whether biofuel adoption is accelerated or delayed beyond 2032.

At the conclusion of its meeting earlier this month the IMO proposed a dual-incentive mechanism to curb marine GHG emissions starting in 2028. The system combines penalties for non-compliance with financial incentives for over-compliance, aiming to shift ship owner behavior through both "stick" and "carrot" measures. As the "carrot", ship owners whose emissions fall below the IMO's stricter compliance target will receive surplus credits, which can be traded on the open market. The "stick" will introduce a two-tier penalty system. If emissions fall between the base and direct GHG emissions tiers, vessel operators will pay a fixed penalty of $100/t CO2-equivalent. Ship owners whose emissions exceed the looser, tier 2, base target will incur a penalty of $380/t CO2e. Both tiers tighten annually through 2035.

The overcompliance credits will be traded on the open market. It is unlikely that they will exceed the cost of the tier 2 penalty of $380/t CO2e. Argus modeled two surplus credit price scenarios — $70/t and $250/t CO2e — to assess their impact on bunker fuel economics. Assessments from 10-17 April showed Singapore very low-sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) at $481/t, Singapore B30 at $740/t, and Chinese used cooking oil methyl ester (Ucome), or B100, at $1,143/t (see charts).

If the outright prices remain flat, in both scenarios, VLSFO would incur tier 1 and tier 2 penalties, raising its effective cost to around $563/t in 2028. B30 in both scenarios would receive credits putting its price at $653/t and $715/t respectively. In the high surplus credit scenario, B100 would earn roughly $580/t in credits, bringing its net cost to about $563/t, on par with VLSFO, and more competitive than B30. In the low surplus credit scenario, B100 would earn just $162/t in credits, lowering its cost to approximately $980/t, well above VLSFO.

At these spot prices, and $250/t CO2e surplus credit, B100 would remain the cheapest fuel option through 2035. At $70/t CO2e surplus credit, B30 becomes cost-competitive with VLSFO only after 2032. Ultimately, the market value of IMO over-compliance credits will be a major factor in determining the timing and extent of global biofuel adoption in the marine sector.

By Stefka Wechsler