Shipping group MOL eyes first ammonia-fuelled main engine via MOU

LONDON (ICIS)–Japanese shipping company Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) on Monday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) which it hopes will lead to the purchase of its inaugural ammonia-fuelled main engine.

The Tokyo-headquartered firm has agreed a pact with compatriot Mitsui E&S Machinery and Germany’s MAN Energy Solutions to target a low-carbon marine engine currently under development by MAN.

“Ammonia is one of the top candidates for a next-generation clean fuel that does not emit carbon dioxide,” the operator of around 800 vessels said in a short statement.

“MOL continually strives to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and to deploy net zero emissions ocean-going vessels within the 2020s.”

Ammonia is widely expected to become a marine fuel of the future as the shipping industry seeks to reduce its contribution to global warming.