NYK to Provide Marine Transport for Green Ammonia Imports to Japan

Marking the first steps toward the large-scale importation of green ammonia to provide fuel for Japan’s power generation industry, NYK (Nippon Yusen Kaisha) has entered into an agreement to provide marine transport for ammonia produced in India. Earlier this year, NYK reported it was in a consortium that was building the world’s first midsized ammonia carrier.

The agreement anticipates that 200,000 metric tons of green ammonia will be produced annually through a project based in India. NYK will transport the ammonia to the Kyushu region, the southwesternmost of Japan’s main islands and home to more than 12.6 million people.

The transportation piece is the latest in a project being developed by Sojitz Corporation, a Japanese corporate group of more than 400 companies involved in automotive, manufacturing, and more, and Singapore’s Sembcorp Industries. Sembcorp’s energy portfolio consists of more than 16.6 GW of capacity including more than 7 GW of renewable energy from solar, wind, and energy storage. Sojitz and Sembcorp have partnered for more than 20 years on power generation in Vietnam.

Sojitz, Sembcorp Industries, and Kyushu Electric Power Company in June 2024 entered into a supply contract for green ammonia. Starting in the latter half of the 2020s, they expect to produce ammonia in India using its renewable energy resources. Green ammonia is produced using renewable energy and water electrolysis. 

The companies highlighted when they reached the production agreement that transportation remained one of the challenges. They expect that ammonia will be quickly adopted in the power generation industry as well as other applications as a hydrogen carrier for green hydrogen.

NYK working with Japan Engine, IHI Power Systems, and Nihon Shipyard announced in January that they were proceeding with an effort to build an ammonia carrier that will also be fueled by ammonia. The design calls for a capacity of 40,000 cbm. The vessel will be built by Japan Marine United Corporation at its Ariake Shipyard and is expected to be completed by November 2026.

Several shipping companies have moved forward with orders for the first large ammonia carriers. NYK becomes the first to also be part of a large offtake and import agreement to launch the new segment of shipping. The company points to its experience in transporting gasses as it leverages into this new segment.