The technology group Wärtsilä, in close customer cooperation with Knutsen Oas Shipping AS and Repsol, will commence the world's first long term, full-scale, testing of ammonia as a fuel in a marine four-stroke combustion engine, the company said in its release.
The testing is made possible by a 20 MNOK grant from the Norwegian Research Council through the DEMO 2000 programme.
Ammonia is promising as a carbon-free fuel for marine applications, in view of the maritime industry's need to fulfil the International Maritime Organisation's vision of reducing greenhouse gas emissions from shipping by at least 50 percent by 2050. Furthermore, ammonia has huge potential for providing green energy to remote power systems, such as offshore installations on the Norwegian Continental Shelf.
Development work by Wärtsilä, as it prepares for the use of ammonia as a fuel, continues with this testing programme, which will be the world`s first full-scale four-stroke combustion engine test. The project will commence in the Sustainable Energy Catapult Centre's testing facilities at Stord, Norway during the first quarter of 2021.
"We are really excited to further develop and understand the combustion properties of ammonia as a carbon free fuel in one of our multi-fuel engines", says Egil Hystad, General Manager, Market Innovation at Wärtsilä Marine Business. "Ammonia storage and supply systems will be designed and developed for maximum personal safety, and in parallel with the Fuel Gas Handling System under development as part of the EU project ShipFC. This project is coordinated by NCE Maritime CleanTech, and it involves an ammonia driven fuel cell which will be tested on the Eidesvik Offshore supply vessel, Viking Energy", Hystad continues.
Wärtsilä, as part of its development work on future fuels, has studied the use of ammonia as a future carbon-free fuel through the ZEEDS initiative. The company's first ammonia combustions tests were commenced in Vaasa, Finland, in winter 2020, and will continue with this long-term testing at the Sustainable Energy Catapult Centre facilities in Stord.
About Wärtsilä: Wärtsilä is a global leader in smart technologies and complete lifecycle solutions for the marine and energy markets. In 2019, Wärtsilä's net sales totalled EUR 5.2 billion with approximately 19,000 employees. The company has operations in over 200 locations in more than 80 countries around the world. Wärtsilä is listed on Nasdaq Helsinki.