Mitsubishi Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. has announced that it is currently developing the Mitsubishi Ammonia Supply and Safety System (MAmmoSS), an ammonia handling system.

This technology, according to Mitsubishi, was designed to enable the use of ammonia as marine fuel, which has gained attention as a way of dramatically decreasing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from ships.

Mitsubishi Shipbuilding has commenced demonstration testing of the Ammonia Gas Abatement System (AGAS), an MAmmoSS subsystem for properly treating excess ammonia, as part of this development project.

Mitsubishi Shipbuilding will undertake demonstration testing of the processing performance under various situations imitating onboard ammonia operations at the AGAS demonstration facility at the Nagasaki District MHI Research & Innovation Centre.

Furthermore, Mitsubishi will investigate widening the scope of the maritime industry through partnership with relevant equipment makers; developed ammonia-related technology will be used to numerous industries to enable safe handling.

MammoSS comprises several subsystems in addition to AGAS, including a high-pressure/low-pressure ammonia fuel supply system (AFSS) and an ammonia fuel tank system.

A key feature of MAmmoSS is that each of these subsystems can be modularised, allowing Mitsubishi Shipbuilding to provide the optimal modular configuration in a package for onboard plants consisting of multiple engines and boilers.

In June 2023, the Japanese classification society ClassNK gave Mitsubishi Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. and NYK Approval in Principle (AiP) for a ship capable of transporting ammonia and liquefied CO2 (LCO2).

A month later, the Port of Newcastle signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the government of Australia and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) setting out a pathway towards a clean energy economy in the Hunter Region.