NYK Line, Nihon Shipyard Co., Ltd. (NSY), ClassNK, and IHI Corporation (IHI) have signed a joint research and development agreement for the commercialisation of an ammonia floating storage and regasification barge (A-FSRB).
The parties will work on the R&D of the world’s first barge equipped with a floating storage and regasification facility for ammonia.
Ammonia, which does not emit carbon dioxide (CO2) when combusted, it is primed to be a next-generation fuel that contributes to global warming countermeasures.
In Japan, technological development is underway for ammonia fuel mixed combustion power generation at coal-fired power plants. However challenges remain when using ammonia in existing thermal power plants, such as the problem of securing land for new onshore facilities including storage tanks and regasification facilities, and initial investment cost.
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.
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In August 2020, NYK Line, Japan Marine United Corporation (which has a 49 per cent share of NSY), and ClassNK started joint R&D of an A-FSRB.
With demand for fuel ammonia 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.
An A-FSRB offers the advantages of shorter construction time and lower costs in comparison to construction of onshore storage tanks and regasification plants.
Efforts of each company in joint R&D
| NYK Line | ・Project management ・Decision of base design ・Consideration of legal compliance ・Economic evaluation |
| NSY | ・Hull design / Equipment layout study ・Examination of utility equipment |
| ClassNK | ・Technical verification regarding safety ・Development of guidelines |
| IHI | ・Discharging of ammonia / Creation of vaporization process ・Providing equipment information required for the vaporization process ・Providing information on necessary utility equipment |
