Amogy's NH3 Kraken tugboat makes maiden voyage - powered by Ballard

Delivering the largest and most significant application of its ammonia-to-electrical power technology to-date, developers of alternative power systems for maritime shipping, Amogy, successfully completed a demonstration voyage of its ammonia-powered NH₃ Kraken tugboat along the Hudson river, near New York City, on September 23. 

Retrofitting a 67-year-old ship to run emission free, the demonstration proves the viability of decarbonized technology in spaces previously dominated by fossil fuels. Following this initial success, Amogy will apply the findings from the tests to boost further applications as the industry continues to ramp-up zero-emission projects for diesel retrofits and newbuilds. 

The NH₃ Kraken is powered by Ballard's FCwave™ 200kW fuel cell, which facilitates scalable power output and flexible integration onto the vessel. The FCwave™ was the first hydrogen-powered fuel cell module to achieve marine Type Approval -  and is now certified by DNV, Lloyd's Register, and ABS.

Driving the vessel, Amogy’s patented ammonia-to-electrical system “cracks” liquid ammonia into its base elements of hydrogen and nitrogen. The hydrogen is then funnelled into Ballard's fuel cell which generates high-performance power with zero carbon emissions.

During this demonstration, the NH₃ Kraken was fueled with green ammonia, produced entirely with renewable energy, further reducing its carbon footprint.

Amogy has received Approval-In-Principle (AiP) from Lloyd’s Register on its ammonia-to-electricity Powerpack (pictured right), and is currently working toward achieving Type Approval from multiple classification societies. Additionally, it is working with the US Coast Guard to confirm Powerpack regulatory compliance.

“Governments across the globe and industry organizations like the IMO have set aggressive goals to reduce global carbon emissions. These goals seem daunting, but they’re necessary – and our successful demonstration of the world’s first carbon-free, ammonia-powered vessel proves that they’re achievable. By demonstrating our technology on the water for the first time, we’ve gained invaluable knowledge that will help us move quickly to commercialization and real-world applications. The opportunity to decarbonize the maritime industry is within reach, and for Amogy, it’s just the beginning.”

Seonghoon Woo CEO & Co-Founder, Amogy

With the global shipping industry emitting nearly 1bn tons of greenhouse gases annually, the success of the NH₃ Kraken program helps to validate ammonia's potential in the shipping industry as the understanding, acceptance, and adoption of alternative sources of power generation grows across the sector.

Amogy will release a case study providing additional technical details for the project in the coming months.