Danes plan green ammonia for ferries

Danish ferry line, DFDS, together with partners, is working on a new “Power-to-Ammonia” fuel project that could see the company’s 50-plus vessels using green ammonia as fuel. DFDS ferries produce 96% of the company’s emissions and the company is intent on slashing its emissions by 45% over the next decade.

Partners in the Power-to-Ammonia project include the Danish Crown, Maersk, the food company ARLA, and DLG, an animal feed and fertiliser company. The initiative will be based at Esbjerg on the country’s west coast. A new power-to-ammonia plant is planned there, with an annual output of 50,000 tonnes. It is likely to become operational in 2026 and could serve as a possible North Sea fuel hub.

The ferry company is keeping alternative fuel options open and is assessing a range of possibilities including green hydrogen, green methanol and “mash” biofuel, produced from agricultural waste. It invested in a start-up biofuel developer, Mash Energy ApS, in 2019.

However, in a recent statement, the company said that green ammonia is an ideal replacement for fuel oil on ferries because it is 100% renewable, carbon-free, and can be used in a solid oxide fuel cell with only water and nitrogen as a by-product.

Torben Carlsen, the ferry company’s CEO, said: “Vessels are designed and built for today’s fuelling and a green fossil alternative does not currently exist. That’s why we’re partnering in projects like Power-to-Ammonia. The cooperation of fuel users and producers along with scientists and society is the fastest way to make sustainable fuels available as realistic alternatives to the fossil fuels we combust in our vehicles and vessels today. I hope that this partnership will help us to reach our goal of operating zero-emissions ferries and trucks much faster than without the partnership.”