Ricardo completes ammonia marine engine feasibility study

Engineering firm Ricardo has completed a feasibility study assessing the potential of ammonia as a future marine fuel.

IMAGE: An offshore vessel at sea. Ricardo

The study delivered a conceptual ammonia combustion system design and validated high-pressure fuel injection data. Ricardo carried out the work in collaboration with Brunel University of London and the Port of Cromarty Firth.

The project aims to evaluate ammonia's role in decarbonising the maritime sector while providing the technical foundation for the development of next-generation ammonia-fuelled marine engines.

As part of the study, the consortium captured experimental data on high-pressure ammonia injection at 200 bar, developed and validated ammonia spray models, created high-pressure dual-fuel (HPDF) combustion models, and designed a conceptual combustion system. A parallel safety workstream assessed ammonia storage requirements for offshore support vessels and ports, as well as bunkering operations.

The team developed three HPDF combustion system concepts, selecting the most promising design for further optimisation of injection and combustion performance and more accurate emissions modelling.

It also evaluated safety requirements against existing regulatory and environmental risk frameworks, covering ammonia storage at the Port of Cromarty Firth, onboard vessels, and throughout the bunkering process.

By Tuhin Roy

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