ABB to provide electrification tech to SwitcH2's green ammonia production vessel
Swiss engineering firm ABB has agreed to engineer and supply automation and electrification technology to Dutch renewable energy company SwitcH2.
IMAGE: Model of SwitcH2's green ammonia FPSO. ABB
SwitchH2 will use the technology on its floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) unit for producing green ammonia from green hydrogen.
The FPSO unit will be stationed off the coast of Portugal and powered by “certified renewable electricity” from the national grid paid for through power purchase agreements, ABB said.
The engineering company will supply electrical and automation equipment and an Integrated Control and Safety System (ICSS) with full cyber security integration.
“ABB’s solutions will fully integrate with third-party equipment, including electrolyzers and ammonia synthesis units,” the company said.
The vessel will feature a 300 MW-capacity electrolyser with potential to produce up to 243,000 mt/year of green ammonia. It will use treated seawater to produce green hydrogen via electrolysis.
Growing interest in green ammonia
Green ammonia is produced by combining green hydrogen with airborne nitrogen through the Haber-Bosch process.
In this method, both hydrogen generation and the Haber-Bosch process are theoretically powered by renewable electricity, resulting in no carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.
Once synthesised, the ammonia will be condensed and stored onboard ships, ABB said. It will then be transferred to carrier ships via a floating hose system for transport to ports, “where it can be used as a marine fuel or cracked back to hydrogen for industrial use," the company added.
Front-end engineering and design (FEED) work is expected to be concluded in 2026, followed by a detailed engineering and construction in 2027.
By Aparupa Mazumder
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