Decarbonising shipping in the Pilbara with clean ammonia

The potential for using clean ammonia to refuel ships, especially iron ore carriers visiting the Pilbara region of WA, is one step closer with key results from a groundbreaking feasibility study showing that safe ammonia bunkering is both economically and operationally viable.

Results also show the demand for ammonia as a fuel to decarbonise the international iron ore trade could reach a volume of 1-1.5mt in 2035.

The study, commissioned by Yara Clean Ammonia (Yara) and Pilbara Ports, was undertaken by Lloyds Register, and looked at key areas including the estimated demand and likely availability of ammonia as a replacement shipping fuel, including the potential risks and regulatory requirements for ammonia bunkering (refueling) at the ports.

Yara Clean Ammonia senior vice president commercial Murali Srinivasan says the level of demand reflects the push by iron ore miners and the steel industry to decarbonise.

“The study has shown that a key enabler for meeting this demand is Yara’s existing assets including the world-scale Yara Pilbara Fertilisers ammonia plant near Karratha,” he said.

“Furthermore, the current development of Yuri renewable hydrogen project on the Yara Pilbara site will be the first in Australia to inject green molecules into an existing ammonia plant, and Yara is vigorously exploring options to ramp up volumes of clean and low carbon ammonia to lay the foundation for a reliable supply chain to serve the emerging shipping fuel market.”

While the feasibility study indicates that ship-to-ship bunkering operations can be performed within acceptable risk levels at anchorages in Dampier and Port Hedland, it also confirms that existing ammonia production and export infrastructure within the Pilbara, such as Yara’s Karratha plant and Pilbara Ports’ Bulk Liquids Berth at Dampier, can be leveraged to initiate bunkering operations in the near-term.

Pilbara Ports chief executive Samuel McSkimming says that bulk carriers are a natural starting point for the early adoption of alternative marine fuels with the carbon reduction efforts in the steel industry supply chain.

“The Pilbara contains the world’s largest bulk export ports,” he said.

“Last year we achieved 752.4mt of trade with more than 6,829 vessel visits.

“This scale of operations cannot be found anywhere else in the world, and it makes the Pilbara’s ports the natural beachhead from which the global bulk carrier fleet will decarbonise.

“The study is an important step towards implementing safe ship to ship ammonia bunkering at our anchorages in Dampier and Port Hedland.

“Ammonia is already widely produced, used, and shipped in industrial quantities around the world.

“To be able to expand its application as a green shipping fuel would greatly reduce shipping emissions.”

Mr McSkimming also says a domestic bunkering industry in the Pilbara will create new industry and job opportunities for WA and the Pilbara community.

“We are proud to contribute to a green transition in the Pilbara region and more broadly in the global shipping industry,” he said.

“Pilbara Ports is progressing on several strategically significant projects, including major port infrastructure upgrades at Dampier and Port Hedland, to support the production of clean fuels in the Pilbara.

Pilbara Ports and Yara will continue to work together as first movers to enable safe  ammonia bunkering in the Pilbara as the switch to zero-carbon shipping materialises.