New mandatory regulations for using hydrogen and ammonia fuel in ships are unlikely before 2028 at the earliest, according to a white paper by ships classification organisation DNV.
It notes progress has been made with the completion of interim guidelines for hydrogen-fuelled ships planned for 2025, and formal approval and publication next year. But it anticipates another two years before regulations under the IGF Code are approved.
Shipping operators are forcing the pace. While no commercial vessels are operating on ammonia, the first orders for ammonia dual-fuel engines have been signed, with delivery from this year onwards. The Fortescue Green Pioneer completed ammonia fuel trials in May last year.
Ferry operator Torghatten is set to receive two 120m ferries powered by compressed hydrogen in 2025 and liquid hydrogen has been used in the Hydra ferry operated by Norled.
The paper highlights four projects – the Nordic Roadmap for Future Fuels, Green Shipping Programme, MarHySafe joint development project, and a DNV/EMSA study into the safety of hydrogen – as initiatives which are helping speed up the regulatory process.
“The volume of ammonia and hydrogen fuel projects and the ability to translate learnings from these projects into rules and further development will directly affect the speed of regulatory development, maturation of fuel technologies and ship designs, and readiness for safe operations,” the report notes.
“Mapping all hazards and finding suitable control measures to mitigate all risks will require considerable effort, which illustrates the importance of having many ammonia and hydrogen projects to learn from.”
Source: DNV
But it warns that safety is more than rules. It will see changes in ship design and training to handle leak-prone hydrogen and toxic ammonia.
It highlights the adoption of liquefied natural gas as proof that the maritime industry can adapt, drawing on 20 years of safe transport – only we haven’t now got 20 years to decarbonise shipping, and must expedite new designs, fuel technologies and safety regulations.
Hydrogen and ammonia, used in internal combustion engines or fuel cells, are expected to be important in the fuel transition towards 2050, even though there are challenges related to technological readiness, fuel availability and cost. Although both fuels are carbon-free, ammonia combustion produces nitrous oxide, while nitrogen oxides are derived from ammonia and hydrogen.
Source: DNV
The safe introduction and progress towards widespread adoption of ammonia and hydrogen as fuels requires a collaborative and open-minded approach among maritime stakeholders, integrating specific regulations for these fuels into the IGF Code, maturing fuel technologies and ship designs, as well as enabling seafarers to operate safely.
“Although there are obstacles, they are not insurmountable,” the report concludes.
