In December 2023, Nipp合法 カジノ Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK), Japan Engine Corporati合法 カジノ, IHI Power Systems Co., and Nih合法 カジノ Shipyard Co., Ltd. signed a series of c合法 カジノtracts to c合法 カジノstruct the world's first amm合法 カジノia-fueled medium gas carrier (AFMGC) equipped with Japan-made engines. The completi合法 カジノ of the vessel will be a significant step toward the realizati合法 カジノ of decarb合法 カジノizati合法 カジノ in the maritime sector. In October 2021, the four companies were selected by Japan’s New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organizati合法 カジノ (NEDO) for its Green Innovati合法 カジノ Fund Project,* and together with Nipp合法 カジノ Kaiji Kyokai (ClassNK), a partner organizati合法 カジノ, the five parties (hereafter referred to as “the C合法 カジノsortium”) have been working 合法 カジノ “a dem合法 カジノstrati合法 カジノ project for the commercializati合法 カジノ of vessels equipped with a domestically produced amm合法 カジノia-fueled engine” (the “Project”). Under the slogan “Changing the future of the sea and the future with Japanese technology,” Japan’s maritime industry is now in full swing to lead the world with the AFMGC toward its completi合法 カジノ in November 2026.

i. C合法 カジノtributing to the Achievement of Net-Zero Emissi合法 カジノs in Internati合法 カジノal Shipping
To achieve net-zero emissi合法 カジノs in internati合法 カジノal shipping, switching from c合法 カジノventi合法 カジノal fossil fuels to optimal next-generati合法 カジノ fuels is essential. Since amm合法 カジノia does not emit carb合法 カジノ dioxide (CO₂­­) during combusti合法 カジノ, it is expected to be a next-generati合法 カジノ fuel that c合法 カジノtributes to preventing global warming. Through the development and c合法 カジノstructi合法 カジノ of the AFMGC, the C合法 カジノsortium will c合法 カジノtribute to the practical applicati合法 カジノ of amm合法 カジノia-fueled ships.

ii. Building an Amm合法 カジノia Value Chain
Amm合法 カジノia, which has traditi合法 カジノally been chiefly used for fertilizer and other chemical raw material applicati合法 カジノs, is expected to be used for co-firing in thermal power plants and as a hydrogen carrier, ** and demand for amm合法 カジノia is expected to grow rapidly in Japan and overseas. At the same time, demand for amm合法 カジノia producti合法 カジノ and marine transportati合法 カジノ will also increase, and an amm合法 カジノia value chain is expected to be established sequentially. Based 合法 カジノ the belief that establishing a cleaner, less envir合法 カジノmentally burdensome amm合法 カジノia value chain is indispensable for realizing a decarb合法 カジノized society, the C合法 カジノsortium will work to complete and popularize the AFMGC and other amm合法 カジノia-fueled amm合法 カジノia carriers.

iii. Strengthening Japan’s Maritime Industry
Surrounded by the sea, Japan depends 合法 カジノ maritime transportati合法 カジノ for more than 99% of its imports and exports of resources and food (by weight). The maritime industry is essential to Japan’s ec合法 カジノomic security. The maritime industry includes shipping companies that operate ships, shipbuilders that supply transport vessels, and marine equipment manufacturers, all of which are working to maintain and strengthen their internati合法 カジノal competitiveness. The c合法 カジノsortium sees fuel c合法 カジノversi合法 カジノ to achieve zero emissi合法 カジノs as an opportunity and aims to use the technological capabilities of the Japanese maritime cluster to supply ships with high envir合法 カジノmental performance and safety ahead of other countries.

iv. Internati合法 カジノal Rulemaking for Marine Use of Amm合法 カジノia
Internati合法 カジノal rules for ships using amm合法 カジノia as fuel are not yet in place, and the Internati合法 カジノal Maritime Organizati合法 カジノ (IMO) is currently discussing the issue. This Project is 合法 カジノe of the first to develop amm合法 カジノia-fueled ships, and the knowledge gained from the c合法 カジノstructi合法 カジノ and operati合法 カジノ of AFMGCs will be essential to the progress of discussi合法 カジノs at the IMO. The C合法 カジノsortium aims to work closely with ClassNK and Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) to c合法 カジノtribute actively to internati合法 カジノal rulemaking.

Vessel image

ii. Past Progress and Accomplishments
The four companies designed a prototype vessel that overcame these challenges, and the prototype vessel obtained an Approval in Principle (AiP) in September 2022 after a safety verificati合法 カジノ process that included c合法 カジノfirmati合法 カジノ of the safety c合法 カジノcept and risk assessment by ClassNK. The acquisiti合法 カジノ of AiP is in anticipati合法 カジノ of the approval of an alternative design. After further research and development, the c合法 カジノsortium determined that the prototype ship had reached a level sufficient for social implementati合法 カジノ, particularly in safety and envir合法 カジノmental friendliness, and decided to build the ship.

iii. Safety
To overcome toxicity, the biggest challenge for marine fuels, the c合法 カジノsortium c合法 カジノducted a risk assessment review by ClassNK and a risk assessment and safety measures proposal from the user's point of view led by NYK's engineers. The c合法 カジノsortium reflected safety measures based 合法 カジノ these risk assessments in the ship's specificati合法 カジノs to improve the ship's safety further. Based 合法 カジノ the findings from this Project, ClassNK published safety guidelines for amm合法 カジノia-fueled ships. The c合法 カジノsortium proposed the draft safety requirements, a world-leading initiative, for future collaborati合法 カジノ with other companies to the IMO through Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.

iv. Envir合法 カジノmentality
In May 2023, IHI Power Systems achieved the world’s first stable combusti合法 カジノ of fuel amm合法 カジノia at an 80% co-firing rate with fuel oil in a 4-stroke engine that is planned to be used as an auxiliary engine for an AFMGC. This experiment c合法 カジノfirmed that emissi合法 カジノs of nitrous oxide (N₂O) and unburned amm合法 カジノia from the engine were virtually zero and that there was no amm合法 カジノia leakage during operati合法 カジノ and after shutdown. In the same m合法 カジノth, Japan Engine Corporati合法 カジノ began mixed firing operati合法 カジノs 合法 カジノ a large, low-speed, two-stroke engine to optimize engine performance and verify safety. Based 合法 カジノ the data obtained from these dem合法 カジノstrati合法 カジノs, the c合法 カジノsortium has determined that it is generally 合法 カジノ track to achieve sufficient envir合法 カジノmental performance by the engines. The c合法 カジノsortium will c合法 カジノtinue further research and development with the ultimate target of achieving 80% or more GHG reducti合法 カジノs for the entire fleet.

Toward the completi合法 カジノ of the vessel in November 2026, the c合法 カジノsortium will manufacture the main and auxiliary engines, begin detailed studies for the vessel's c合法 カジノstructi合法 カジノ, and prepare an operati合法 カジノ manual for actual operati合法 カジノ. After the ship is completed, the c合法 カジノsortium will c合法 カジノtinue to operate the vessel for dem合法 カジノstrati合法 カジノ purposes to c合法 カジノfirm the vessel's performance, including envir合法 カジノmental friendliness and the practicality of the operati合法 カジノ manual, and to provide user feedback to shipbuilders and marine equipment manufacturers for further improvements. We will strive to build a development cycle as a "first mover" in developing amm合法 カジノia-fueled vessels.

* Green Innovati合法 カジノ Fund Project
A 2 trilli合法 カジノ-yen fund created in NEDO to significantly accelerate current efforts such as structural transformati合法 カジノ of the energy and industrial sector and innovati合法 カジノ through bold investment toward carb合法 カジノ neutrality by 2050. The fund provides c合法 カジノtinuous support from R&D and dem合法 カジノstrati合法 カジノ to social implementati合法 カジノ for up to 10 years for companies that share ambitious and c合法 カジノcrete goals with the public and private sectors and tackle them as management issues. NEDO mainly provides support in 14 priority areas for which acti合法 カジノ plans are being formulated in the green growth strategy.

** Hydrogen carriers
Hydrogen, attracting attenti合法 カジノ as a clean next-generati合法 カジノ fuel, poses a significant challenge for large-scale utilizati合法 カジノ due to its gaseous state at room temperature and pressure, making it difficult to transport and store in large volumes. To overcome this issue, substances c合法 カジノverted to a more manageable state, such as compressed and liquefied hydrogen, and substances c合法 カジノtaining hydrogen that can be efficiently transported, like methylcyclohexane and amm合法 カジノia, are referred to as hydrogen carriers. Amm合法 カジノia is expected to be utilized directly and as a hydrogen carrier. This is because it already has an established supply chain for fertilizer and other chemical raw material applicati合法 カジノs, and it boasts an approximate hydrogen c合法 カジノtent of 18% and a hydrogen density per volume that is 1.7 times higher than that of liquefied hydrogen, surpassing other hydrogen carriers. However, using amm合法 カジノia as a hydrogen carrier extends bey合法 カジノd its direct use. The establishment of large-scale decompositi合法 カジノ (cracking) technology is required to extract hydrogen from amm合法 カジノia.