Nutrien Ltd., Saskatoon, and shipping company Exmar, Antwerp, Belgium, announced on July 29 that they have signed a Collaboration Agreement to jointly develop and build a low-carbon, ammonia-fueled vessel.
“Nutrien is excited to partner with EXMAR on our shared journey to drive transformative reductions in maritime emissions,” said Raef Sully, Nutrien’s Executive Vice President and CEO of Nitrogen and Phosphate. “This initiative demonstrates how we are taking action to achieve our Feeding the Future Plan’s 2030 sustainability commitments, which include investing in low-carbon ammonia innovations.”
The parties are confident that development of a vessel powered by low-carbon ammonia can align with the International Maritime Organization’s 2050 goals, and expect deep decarbonization of the maritime industry to be achievable prior to 2030.
The two will collaborate on the following: select an ammonia engine and supply system manufacturer; select a shipyard capable of building an ammonia-powered vessel; use Nutrien’s existing low-carbon ammonia supply from Geismar, La., as a fuel; and deploy an ammonia-fueled vessel as early as 2025.
Nutrien noted that it has actively been pursuing the development of low-carbon ammonia for more than a decade, and has approximately 1 million mt of production capability through its Redwater and Joffre, Alta., operations, as well as Geismar, all of which employ carbon capture and sequestration technology.