Yara International ASA, Oslo, and Singapore-based independent commodity trading company Trafigura Pte Ltd. jointly announced on June 7 that they had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to collaborate on the development and promotion of ammonia as a clean fuel in shipping and to explore possible opportunities to work together on certain clean (green and blue) ammonia fuel infrastructure and market opportunities.
Under the MOU, the two companies said they intend to collaborate on the supply of clean ammonia by Yara to Trafigura Group companies, and also to explore joint R&D initiatives for clean ammonia application as a marine fuel. They also plan to explore the development of new clean ammonia assets, including marine fuel infrastructure and market opportunities.
Both Yara and Trafigura have taken a number of steps to progress towards making the transition to a greener economy a reality, but this is the first time the two companies have collaborated on initiatives that will establish themselves in the clean ammonia value chain.
“Building clean ammonia value chains is critical to facilitate the transition to zero emission fuels by enabling the hydrogen economy – not least within trade and distribution, where both Yara and Trafigura have leading capabilities. Demand and supply of clean ammonia need to be developed in tandem,” said Yara Clean Ammonia President Magnus Krogh Ankarstrand.
Reducing shipping emissions is a vital component of the fight against global climate change, yet greenhouse gas emissions from the global maritime sector are increasing. The Fourth IMO Greenhouse Gas study, published in August 2020, predicts that emissions could increase by as much as 130 percent by 2050 compared with 2008 levels.
To reverse this alarming trend the ships in use, the fuels that power them and the related infrastructure all need to change as the industry transitions to low or zero-carbon maritime fuels, the companies said in their combined media statement.