South Korea’s Hyundai Heavy Industries Group has started the development of a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) for ammonia.
The group’s two units KSOE and Hyundai Heavy Industries recently signed an agreement with KNOC and LR to jointly develop the unit, according to a statement by HHI issued on Thursday.
Currently, FSRUs are used as floating facilities that receive LNG offshore for storage, regasify it onboard, and send it to shore.
The units offer the advantages of shorter construction time and lower costs in comparison to construction of onshore storage tanks and regasification plants.
Such as an LNG FSRU, an ammonia FSRU stores liquefied ammonia, regasifies it, and supplies the fuel to onshore customers.
However, there are still no such units built. Earlier this year, Japan’s shipping giant MOL and compatriot Mitsubishi Shipbuilding completed a concept study on a FSRU for ammonia.
HHI says that ammonia is an “eco-friendly fuel” that does not emit carbon dioxide during combustion.
When mixed with coal, it can reduce carbon emissions while maintaining power generation, so there is an increasing demand for ammonia as an energy source for coal-fired power plants, it said.
Ammonia is also attracting attention as a carrier for hydrogen, HHI said.
Under the new agreement, HHI Group would develop the regasification system and create a basic design of an ammonia FSRU that can be used for the project promoted by KNOC. LR would review and approve the design, HHI said.