In a bid to support shipping shift to decarbonization, the Lloyd’s Register Maritime Decarbonisation Hub (LR) and the Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping have joined forces in a new project to develop guidance around the safe use of ammonia as a fuel.
Gathering several industry partners, including Danish shipping major A.P. Moller-Maersk, Germany-based manufacturer MAN Energy Solutions, Japanese shipping firm NYK Line, engineering company Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and French energy company Total, the project mainly aims to understand and guide the safe use of ammonia as a fuel onboard ships.
Part of this will include developing a mature and detailed understanding of risk and safety concerns, which will be assessed through a Quantitative Risk Assessment methodology in phase one of the project. This will ultimately lead to the development of best practices for safeguards in design and arrangements when using ammonia as a shipping fuel.
The project will also determine the risk of fatality from unintended releases of ammonia, as well as determine the risk contribution of key equipment and spaces dedicated to Ammonia storage. To illustrate the potential for risk mitigation measures, the project partners will assess alternate vessel designs, optimized to be fuelled by ammonia.
Ammonia as a fuel is seen as an attractive long-term solution for maritime as the industry transitions towards a zero- or low carbon value chain. Green ammonia can be produced from renewable power by electrolysis of H2O, ultimately making it a zero-carbon fuel. Its big advantage is that it can be stored in higher temperatures in a liquid form under atmospheric pressure.
However, due to the extreme toxicity of the fuel, it is critical to address the safety issues of ammonia in order to mitigate risks to people, assets , and the environment.
In the eagerness to decarbonize the shipping sector, proper risk management is critical and safety must not become an afterthought. This project will provide matured understanding of safety risk enabling industry guidance towards future safeguard design and adequate operational guidelines. Enabling safe and adequate deployment of ammonia as a marine fuel,
…said Claus Winter Graugaard, Head of Onboard Vessel Solutions, the Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping.
Shipping needs collaboration if the industry is to successfully meet the IMO 2050 targets, and this collaboration between the LR Maritime Decarbonisation Hub and the Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping is a significant milestone in this journey. We look forward to working with the project partners, who each represent different areas of the supply chain, in developing guidance, risk mitigation measures , and best practices on using Ammonia so that we can support the safe uptake of the fuel,
…commented Lloyd’s Register Decarbonisation Programme Manager, Charles Haskell .
Funded by the participating partners, the project will be managed by the Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping and is expected to run throughout 2021.
