Japan Engine Starts Co-Firing Ammonia Engine Ahead of October Delivery

April 24 ------ Japan Engine Corporation reports key progress in the race among the major engine manufacturers to complete the certification and delivery of the first ammonia-fueled commercial shipping engine. The company reports it will be ready to ship the engine in October for installation in a gas carrier as other major companies including MAN and WindGD have also reported they were in the final stages of certification before shipping their first ammonia engines. 

The company reports that the first Japanese-developed and manufactured commercial unit of a large, low-speed, two-stroke engine recently started co-firing operation with ammonia. It is being labeled the first full-scale commercial engine based on ammonia. J-ENG reports its first development is a large, low-speed, ammonia-fueled 2-stroke engine (50 cm cylinder bore). 

The project was launched under the auspices of the “Green Innovation Fund Project: Next-generation Ship Development” project of the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO). Since May 2023, when J-ENG started the world's first ammonia co-firing operation of a large, low-speed, two-stroke engine in a test engine, the company reports it has obtained many results and knowledge. This includes insights into stable operation at high ammonia co-firing rates and safe handling of ammonia, through various test operations over about a year and a half.  

J-ENG says it will conduct verification operations on the full-scale engine and plans to ship the engine in October of this year. The engine will be installed on an Ammonia-Fueled Medium Gas Carrier (AFMGC) and then demonstration operations of the vessel will be carried out. Concurrently, the company says it is also developing an ammonia-fueled engine with a cylinder bore of 60 cm for several promising follow-on projects. 

Seeking to be a first mover for next-generation fuel engines J-Engine says it has also decided to construct a new plant with the support of a subsidy project by the Ministry of the Environment and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism through the GX Economic Transition Bonds. The plant, which is scheduled for completion in 2028, will be used to expand the production of ammonia fuel engines (in the product mix with fuel oil engines) and promote the spread and expansion of zero-emission ships.  

Testing and demonstrations of the first ammonia-fueled vessels began in 2024. Japan’s NYK is at the forefront with a converted tug that previously ran on LNG and was rebuilt with an ammonia-fueled engine. DNV calculates that there currently are 33 vessels on order to be fueled by ammonia due for delivery by the end of this decade. 

Source: maritime-executive.com