Thu, 24 August, 2023
TWI has been working as part of a consortium of organisations on the NH3CRAFT project to develop a commercially-attractive, safe and sustainable technology for the high-volume storage and transportation of ammonia as a fuel on-board ships.
The consortium came together in Glasgow on 14 and 15 June 2023 for a General Assembly. Hosted by the University of Strathclyde, the assembly allowed the project partners an opportunity to report on their activities over the past 6 months as well as setting down upcoming plans of action.
The project aims to pioneer the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by at least 50% by 2050 through the development of a feasible method for storing 1,000 m3 of ammonia (NH3) in liquid form at a pressure of 10 bar.
The concept will be demonstrated on a 31,000 deadweight ton multi-purpose vessel, with five other vessel types and corresponding fuel-storage tank concepts also due to be studied and documented to demonstrate the wider applicability of the technology.
The consortium have begun investigating the fuel containment tank manufacture (in both metals and composite forms), along with the manufacture of equipment included in auxiliary systems. This includes continuous monitoring and assurance of lead-times for manufacturing and delivery of the relevant material for both the tank storage and auxiliary systems. This task will prepare and record the technical specification and any works performed so that the process can be compared to the designs. This will provide information to refine or revise the process to match time schedules.
The NH3CRAFT project is also working to identify and update new or existing class and regulatory requirements. This will be achieved through a gap analysis of the technical requirements for existing class rules and statutory regulations against the results of the case studies and the conclusions of the risk and safety activities of the project. This will identify changes to the existing rules and regulations.
You can find out more about this project on the dedicated NH3CRAFT website.
NH3CRAFT is a Co-funded by the European Commission Project. UK participation in NH3CRAFT Project is funded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) under the UK government’s Horizon Europe guarantee [grant numbers 10038548 and 10037828].