FSRU player Hoegh LNG, tech firm Wartsila, and other partners have received funding from Norway to develop a solution using ammonia as a hydrogen carrier for the energy market.
The grant of some 5.9 million euros ($6.52 million) from Norwegian government’s green platform program will provide about 50 percent of the total budget for the project, according to a statement by Hoegh.
Additional partners in the project include the Institute for Energy Technology (IFE), University of South-East Norway, Sustainable Energy, and BASF.
Hoegh said the project will seek to increase the viability of using hydrogen as a replacement for fossil fuels.
The partners plan to develop a system to convert ammonia back to hydrogen, which will then be installed onboard a Hoegh floating terminal.
This will result in lower overall cost, improved safety, and competitive hydrogen prices, according to Hoegh.
Hoegh currently has 10 FSRUs as well as 3 LNG carriers in its fleet.
The firm noted in the statement that hydrogen is emerging as a “viable future fuel” in the move away from fossil fuels.
However, it is difficult to store and transport due to its low volumetric energy density and with potential large vaporization losses.
Ammonia is “significantly better suited” than hydrogen for this purpose, since it can be stored in liquid form at moderate pressures and temperatures, it said.