Amon Gas secures funding to build two ammonia-fuelled gas carriers

Norwegian maritime firm Amon Maritime’s venture Amon Gas has received funding worth NOK 180 million (around $17 million) from Norwegian state-owned Enova SF to build two ammonia-fuelled medium gas carriers (MGCs).

PHOTO: Amon Gas’ ammonia-fuelled medium gas carrier concept. Amon Maritime

Both vessels are designed to use ammonia as fuel for both propulsion and auxiliary power.

The carriers will be fully capable of carrying ammonia in addition to LPG.

“MGC is a large vessel type with high fuel consumption, meaning that switching to ammonia as fuel will significantly reduce the climate impact per ship,” Amon Maritime said.

The company expects the vessels to be operational by 2028 but has not disclosed any details about the shipyard where the vessels will be built.

Enova SF, the clean tech funding arm of the Norwegian government, aims to promote cleaner technologies, strengthen the supply of renewable energy sources, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Several projects backed by Enova funding

Including this deal, a total of nine hydrogen vessels and six ammonia vessels have been supported in this ENOVA funding round, amounting to over NOK 1.2 billion (around $114 million). The selected companies are Høegh Autoliners and Amon Gas (ammonia), and Maris Fiducia, Møre Sjø, Napier, and Halten Bulk (hydrogen).

Norwegian shipping firm Höegh Autoliners has also secured increased funding to make four of its pure car and truck carriers (PCTCs) capable of running on ammonia.

The company has ordered a total of 12 vessels, of which eight will run on LNG. The other four vessels are ammonia-ready PCTCs.

Ammonia-ready means that the vessel will not be capable of running on ammonia upon delivery, but it will have the option to be retrofitted for ammonia propulsion in the future.

With the commercial availability of ammonia engines expected by 2026, the company plans to equip these four vessels with ammonia engines prior to their delivery in 2027.

In March, Höegh Autoliners secured funding to make two of its pure car and truck carriers (PCTCs) capable of running on ammonia.

By Tuhin Roy

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