Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL), HD Korea Shipbuilding and Offshore Engineering, and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries have been granted an approval in principle (AIP) from the classification society Lloyd's Register for a floating ammonia cracker unit (FACU).
The unit was jointly developed by the three companies for onshore hydrogen supply.
The FACU is a solution that enables the direct supply of hydrogen from offshore to onshore by equipping a vessel with technology that thermally decomposes ammonia into hydrogen and nitrogen.
MOL said that the FACU is expected to accelerate the use of hydrogen energy and contribute to the establishment of a robust hydrogen supply chain.
The partners have finalised the conceptual design for the unit, including the process layout and general arrangement. The project was supported by Kellogg Brown and Root (KBR), who collaborated on the ammonia cracking process and module design, and Amogy, which provided a new catalyst solution.
The companies stated that by receiving ammonia, cracking it onboard, and delivering hydrogen to shore, the solution contributes to the stable supply of “clean energy” in areas where building onshore facilities is challenging.
