NYK Line, IHI Power Systems Co., Nihon Shipyard, Japan Engine Corporation and ClassNK, announced that the world’s first four-stroke ammonia-fueled engine has successfully completed a land-based test for the stable combustion of fuel ammonia.
As explained, the engine having an 80% co-firing ratio as part of a demonstration project for the commercialization of vessels equipped with a domestically produced ammonia-fueled engine.
According to NYK Line, this initiative concerns the development of vessels equipped with a domestically produced ammonia-fueled engine. It was initiated in October 2021 by NYK, Japan Engine Corporation, IHI Power Systems, and Nihon Shipyard as part of the Green Innovation Fund Project* of the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO).
As informed, ammonia does not emit CO2 during combustion and is therefore expected to be a next-generation fuel that contributes to combating global warming, but it is a difficult substance to handle due to its toxicity.
The tests also confirmed that emissions of dinitrogen monoxide (N2O), which has a greenhouse effect about 300 times greater than carbon dioxide (CO2), and unburnt ammonia were virtually zero, and there was no ammonia leakage from all demonstration equipment during operation and after shutdown.
The engine will be installed on A-Tug, which will be completed in June 2024, after further land-based testing of the engine to maximize greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions through further improvement of the co-firing rate.
Furthermore, based on this research and development for domestic vessels, efforts will be made to develop a 250 mm bore engine for the auxiliary engine of an oceangoing vessel. That auxiliary engine will be installed on an ammonia-fueled ammonia gas carrier (AFAGC, scheduled for delivery in October 2026) under joint development by NYK, Nihon Shipyard, Japan Engine, IHI Power Systems, and ClassNK.
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