NYK Line, Nihon Shipyard Co., Ltd. (NSY), ClassNK, and IHI Corporation (IHI) have signed a joint research and development agreement for the commercialization of an ammonia floating storage and regasification barge (A-FSRB).
Specifically, the parties will work on the R&D of the world's first barge equipped with a floating storage and regasification facility for ammonia.
Since ammonia does not emit carbon dioxide (CO2) when combusted, it is expected to be a next-generation fuel that contributes to global warming countermeasures, NYK Line said.
In Japan, technological development is underway for ammonia fuel mixed combustion power generation at coal-fired power plants as an innovative next-generation thermal power generation technology that contributes to the reduction of CO2 emissions. On the other hand, when using ammonia in existing thermal power plants, there are issues such as the problem of securing land for new onshore facilities including storage tanks and regasification facilities, and the large initial investment cost, NYK explained.
An A-FSRB is an offshore floating facility that can receive and store ammonia that has been transported via ship as a liquid, warm and regasify ammonia according to demand, and then send it to a pipeline onshore.
"An A-FSRB offers the advantages of shorter construction time and lower costs in comparison to construction of onshore storage tanks and regasification plants. In fact, the A-FSRB is expected to speed up the adoption of ammonia fuel and contribute to its wider use as a lower-environmental-impact next-generation fuel," NYK said.
In August 2020, NYK Line, Japan Marine United Corporation (which has a 49% share of NSY), and ClassNK started joint R&D of an A-FSRB. However, since the demand for fuel ammonia is expected to increase further in the future, the three parties have concluded a new joint R&D agreement with IHI, an ammonia-related equipment manufacturer.