Ammonia is a caustic gas with a sharply pungent-smell that most people would associate with urine, but it could help turn global shipping green.
A new study published by the UK scientific body the Royal Society claims it could be used as fuel to 'decarbonize" the global shipping industry.
Ships on the Panama Canal could soon be fuelled by "green ammonia" according to a new policy paper (Credit: AP Photo/Arnulfo Franco)
Creating ammonia in a simple process called "Haber Bosch," which combines hydrogen and nitrogen has been done for more than 100 years, but by using wind power or similar renewable power sources in the process scientists think "green ammonia" can revolutionize industries like shipping which are currently significant carbon polluters.
The resulting carbon-free ammonia is the subject of a Royal Society paper which names shipping as one of the potential benefactors of the 21st century version of a 1909 invention.
"Ammonia can be reacted with oxygen from the air in a fuel cell to produce electricity or it can be burned in internal combustion engines and gas turbines," and can therefore be effective fuel in a number of scenarios. But the paper argues it lends itself to "transport modes where large amounts of energy are required for extended periods of time and where batteries or direct electrical connection are not practical or cost effective".
This makes the fuel perfect for long-distance shipping and heavy goods vehicles. Because ammonia can be used in internal combustion engines, one proposal is that retrofitting vehicles could help to speed up decarbonisation. This is especally relevant in the shipping industry, according to the Royal Society, because "one of the key challenges in achieving [decarbonisation by 2050] is the long lifetime of large ships (around 25 years)."
One firm, MAN Energy Solutions, has aready begun the process of building container ships with ammonia-fueled engines - using existing technologies for liquid natural gas engines. It's hoped the engines could be operating by 2022.
Shanghai Merchant Ship Design & Research Institute is also working on a 180,000 ton ammonia-fuelled bulk carrier, according to Lloyd's Register.