Shipping companies that rely on ammonia as an alternative to diesel and heavy fuel oil for marine engine fuels can count on GEA's support in developing appropriate technologies. GEA plans to support the marine industry in reducing emissions as a system supplier with in-house solutions. This was announced by machine and plant manufacturer and systems supplier GEA at the international ship efficiency conference in Hamburg on September 27 and 28, 2021. In developing appropriate concepts for the use of ammonia (NH3), GEA relies on its many years of experience and expertise in separator technology as well as refrigeration and heating technology using natural refrigerants such as CO2 and ammonia.

To reduce harmful emissions, in the future more and more ships will be powered by alternative fuels instead of heavy fuel oil and diesel. Experts from DNV, an international classification society and service provider in the fields of technical consulting, engineering services, certification and risk management, predict that within 30 years at latest, about a quarter of all ships on the world's oceans will be powered by ammonia, alongside diesel, liquefied petroleum gas, heavy fuel oil and biofuels.

With ammonia as a fuel and a 5% diesel blend, shipping can be almost completely decarbonized in the long run. The reason is that ammonia burns without emitting CO2. However, the decisive factor in terms of respect for the climate is that the production of ammonia, an energy-intensive process, is converted to renewable energy sources. Another advantage is that ammonia also carries hydrogen bound in the molecule (NH3), which can be converted into electricity on site in fuel cells. Another clear argument in favor of ammonia is that there is a great deal of experience throughout the world in the production, storage and logistics of this liquid. Of course, as mentioned above, production still has to be converted to renewable sources. Furthermore, it can be expected that there will be a stable supply of ammonia, as many places are working on renewable energy-based ammonia production methods.

GEA has developed extensive experience in properties relevant to ship design and on-board technical management. In addition, there is a great deal of experience in the safe handling of ammonia. At ambient pressure it becomes liquid already at -33°C and is therefore less expensive in terms of energy to move and keep cold than natural gas (liquefied natural gas - LNG), where this temperature is around -160°C. In the case of hydrogen, the temperature would even be around -260°C. In the case of hydrogen, the temperature would be around -5°C. For hydrogen it would even be around -250°C. 

It is therefore relatively easy and requires relatively little energy to keep liquid ammonia.