Partners join forces for world's first sustainable project
NYK Line
A joint research and development agreement was signed among NYK Line, Nihon Shipyard Co., Ltd., ClassNK, and IHI Corporation for the commercialisation of an ammonia floating storage and regasification barge (A-FSRB).
The parties will collaborate on the research and development of the world's first barge equipped with floating ammonia storage and regasification facility.
Since burning ammonia doesn't release carbon dioxide (CO2), it is likely to be a next-generation fuel that helps fight global warming. Ammonia-fuel mixed combustion power generation at coal-fired power plants is being developed as an innovative next-generation thermal power generation technology that helps reduce CO2 emissions in Japan.
On the other hand, there are problems with using ammonia in existing thermal power plants, such as the difficulty of finding land for new onshore facilities, such as storage tanks and regasification facilities, and the high cost of the initial investment.
An A-FSRB is an offshore floating facility that can receive and store liquid ammonia that has been transported by ship, warm and regasify ammonia on demand, and then send it to a pipeline on land.
In comparison to building onshore storage tanks and regasification plants, building an A-FSRB takes less time and costs less money. The A-FSRB is expected to speed up the use of ammonia fuel and make it more popular as a next-generation fuel that is better for the environment.
NYK Line, Japan Marine United Corporation (which owns 49% of NSY), and ClassNK will begin joint research and development of an A-FSRB in August 2020. However, since the demand for fuel ammonia is likely to rise more in the future, the three companies have signed a new cooperative R&D agreement with IHI, a maker of ammonia-related equipment.
Source: NYK Line
