Finnish marine technology Wartsila said it will explore the possibility of using ammonia and LNG in a dual-fuel ship engine.
Wartsila will work on the engine with Norwegian firm Simon Mokster Shipping (SMS), which supplies offshore support vessels in the North and Barents seas. The project will look into the feasibility of developing a ship engine that would use ammonia as its main fuel, but also be able to run on LNG as an alternative.
Wartsila and SMS will carry out the tests on the Stril Pioneer offshore supply vessel, which currently operates on a dual-fuel engine using LNG as the main fuel.
Ammonia is a leading zero-carbon marine fuel candidate, but there are currently no ships using the fuel. But Norwegian shipping company Hoegh Autoliners plans to have a vehicle carrier able to run on green ammonia, among other fuels, by 2023. And Wartsila said earlier this year it expects a ship engine able to run solely on ammonia to be ready by 2023.
Availability and cost are two major challenges to using ammonia in shipping. But supply of LNG, and the associated bunkering infrastructure, is far more widespread and the fuel is already used on ships globally.
But LNG is likely to be only a bridging fuel for shipping until zero-carbon fuels, such as green ammonia, are developed. LNG is still a fossil fuel, although it emits 10-20pc less CO2 than fuel oil bunkers. There is also the risk of methane slip when using LNG, which is a far more potent greenhouse gas than CO2.
