Green light for VLAC design integrated with Amogy’s ammonia-powered technology

South Korean shipbuilder HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) and Greek ship management company Capital Gas have obtained approval in principle (AiP) from classification societies ABS and the Liberian Registry for their very large ammonia carrier (VLAC) design that integrates ammonia-to-electrical power system from the US company Amogy.

Through a joint development project (JDP), Amogy, ABS, the Liberian Registry, HHI, and Capital Gas designed a 93,000 cubic meter (cbm) ammonia carrier with Amogy’s technology providing around 1,400 kW of auxiliary power.

Amogy’s ammonia-to-electrical power system splits, or “cracks,” liquid ammonia into its base elements of hydrogen and nitrogen, which then funnels the hydrogen into a fuel cell, generating high-performance power without carbon emissions.

By awarding AiPs, ABS and the Liberian Registry have confirmed the feasibility of Amogy’s technology as per relevant regulatory guidelines for deployment onboard a very large ammonia carrier.

Seonghoon Woo, CEO at Amogy, said: “Receiving AiPs from ABS and the Liberian Registry for the integration of our innovative ammonia-to-power system on this ammonia carrier is a pivotal step toward the deployment of our technology. We look forward to further collaboration with ABS, the Liberian Registry, HHI, and Capital Gas as we seek to move this project forward and facilitate ammonia-powered solutions in the maritime industry.”

Seung-Ho Jeon, Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Technical Officer of HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, noted that the JDP analyzed the safety of fuel cells on a very large ammonia carrier, bringing the company a significant step closer to achieving the IMO net-zero GHG emission strategy by 2050.

In addition, Lloyd’s Register (LR) has awarded AiP to Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) and Amogy for an 88,000 cbm ammonia carrier powered by Amogy’s ammonia-to-electrical power system, which utilizes ammonia cracking technology to generate hydrogen onboard to be sent through a fuel cell.

Another AiP was granted by LR to HD Hyundai Mipo Dockyard (HD HMD) and Korea Shipbuilding and Offshore Engineering (KSOE) for the fuel-cell powered feeder ship design, equipped with Amogy’s ammonia-to-electrical power system.

All three approvals were presented at Posidonia 2024.

Just recently, Amogy received New Technology Qualification (NTQ) from ABS for its ammonia-to-electrical power system as it aims for the broader industry adoption of this technology.

In line with this, the US company partnered with shipbuilding major Hanwha Ocean and aerospace industrial company Hanwha Aerospace, both affiliates of South Korean Hanwha Group, to accelerate the decarbonization of the maritime industry through the deployment of zero-emission ammonia-to-power technology for ammonia-powered vessels.

Amogy also signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Japan-based trading and import/export company ITOCHU Corporation to explore the potential application of Amogy’s technology on ITOCHU’s maritime vessels.