American Bureau of Shipping OKs ammonia cracking technology on Pherousa ships

The American Bureau of Shipping has issued an approval in principle to Norway's Pherousa Shipping for use of its ammonia cracking technology onboard ships, the body said in a statement late last week.

The emissions-free technology is intended for application in Pherousa's Ultramax 64,000 dwt bulk carrier, which will be used in the transportation of copper.

The propulsion system includes proton exchange membrane fuel cells and fuel gas supply system for fully electric operations. Ammonia cracking on ships involves the heating of ammonia in the presence of a catalyst to break it down into hydrogen and nitrogen elements. The hydrogen produced is subsequently used in fuel cells or combustion engines.

This technology is in line with global targets to decarbonize industry-related emissions.

"We are seeing rapid innovation and new developments around ammonia as an alternative fuel, whether as a carrier of hydrogen or as a fuel in its own right. Cracking ammonia to produce hydrogen for fuel cells is one that has the potential to accelerate the energy transition to low or no carbon emissions in the maritime industry. ABS is proud to share our deep insight into the safety aspects of ammonia as a marine fuel in supporting development of this capability," ABS Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer Patrick Ryan said.

"The approval in principle from ABS marks another important milestone for us in the development of a zero-emission scalable solution for the maritime industry. It allows us to continue the design and construction of our concept series of 64,000 dwt bulk carriers earmarked for the copper industry, to ensure that this specific commodity, so essential to global decarbonization, can be delivered across oceans without any carbon footprint at all," according to Pherousa Chairman Hans Bredrup.

Partners in this project include Deltamarin, Babcock International Group, the flag state Marshall Islands and Metacon, the technology developer for Pherousa.

Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, assessed Northwest Europe ammonia at $450/mt CFR duty paid/duty free June 6.