The floating ammonia production unit is expected to produce up to 600 tonnes a day
BW Offshore and the Dutch company Switch2 plan to either convert a very large crude carrier, or use a newbuild to produce green ammonia onboard.
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BW Offshore has secured an approval in principle from DNV for its floating ammonia production unit.
The unit will use a very large crude carrier, or a newbuild vessel to produce ammonia onboard by electrolysis from offshore wind.
Oslo-listed BW Offshore and the Dutch company Switch2 will develop the floating storage unit, which can initially produce 450 to 600 tonnes of green ammonia per day with an overall electrolysis capacity of 200-300 MW.
“We are aiming to take the final investment decision for the project in 2024 with our partner BW Offshore and we are looking at 2028 for the start date. And the floating unit will be deployed in the North Sea for this project,” Bob Rietveldt, international director at Switch2, told Lloyd’s List.
The floating unit will use electrolysis of seawater and nitrogen with an air separation unit and subsequently combine these in an ammonia synthesis unit. DNV said the ammonia gas produced by the unit will be condensed and the liquid ammonia will be stored in the hull, in order to be subsequently offloaded to an ammonia carrier.
The approval “covers all aspects of the integrated vessel concept including structural integrity, mooring, ammonia production, ammonia storage and cargo handling,” said DNV vice president Conn Fagan.
Hydrogen-derived alternative fuels, such as green ammonia and green methanol, are expected to play key roles in shipping’s decarbonisation. Price reporting agency Argus Media expects blue and green ammonia demand from the shipping industry to reach around 100m tonnes per year by 2050.