Norwegian financier Enova has awarded a NOK 180m investment grant to Amon Gas, a newly-formed subsidiary of Amon Maritime, which is targeting a shipbuilding series starting with two firm orders of ammonia-powered gas carriers with a goal of being in operation by 2028.
André Risholm, CEO Amon Maritime said: “This is a significant milestone towards realising carbon free transportation systems within the gas carrier segment. Amon Gas will provide the market with low-emission vessels while simultaneously meeting customer demands with innovative solutions.”
The vessels are designed to use ammonia as fuel, for both propulsion and power consumption, also when transporting LPG as cargo and incorporating the best energy-saving measures. Gas carriers are considered a large vessel type with high fuel consumption. This means that the climate impact per ship by switching to ammonia as fuel will be significant. Carbon emission calculations give an estimated 87% reduction compared to conventional vessels from the start of operations, with ambitions for further reductions towards 100%.
Amon Maritime CTO, Steinar Kostøl, said: “If ammonia is the fuel of the future, it will lead to a high growth in sea transport of ammonia. Ammonia is primarily transported on MGCs today. If the ship transports ammonia, the ‘chicken-and-egg’ dilemma of making bunkering available is avoided—the substance is already on board as cargo. Because the ship is already designed for transporting ammonia, the relative additional cost in this segment compared to conventional ships will be less than in most other segments.”
Image: Amon Gas medium gas carrier (source: Amon Maritime)
