Periodic Reporting for period 3 - ENGIMMONIA (Sustainable technologies for future long distance shipping towards complete decarbonisation)
Berichtszeitraum: 2024-05-01 bis 2025-04-30
The ENGIMMONIA project successfully achieved its objectives, delivering a coherent set of technological, environmental and regulatory results that advance the decarbonisation of long‑distance maritime transport. The project demonstrated that ammonia is a technically feasible and promising alternative marine fuel, validated through extensive laboratory and full‑scale engine testing. Stable combustion was achieved in dual‑fuel configurations, with low ammonia slip, controlled NOx emissions and consistently low nitrous oxide (N2O) levels. These results confirm ammonia’s strong potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, particularly with the future availability of green ammonia.
In parallel, ENGIMMONIA developed and validated complementary clean energy technologies, including compact Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) systems for waste heat recovery, adsorption chillers, lightweight photovoltaic composite panels and advanced onboard energy management systems. These solutions were successfully designed, integrated and demonstrated on different vessel types, showing measurable energy savings and emission reduction potential. The results highlighted that technical effectiveness and economic viability depend strongly on vessel type, size and operational profile, with larger vessels offering higher decarbonisation potential due to greater energy demand and waste heat availability.
The project also delivered advanced modelling tools, life‑cycle cost and environmental assessments, and scale‑up analyses, demonstrating that integrated configurations combining multiple technologies provide the greatest benefits. From a regulatory perspective, ENGIMMONIA generated valuable evidence to support the development of international guidelines for ammonia as a marine fuel, while identifying remaining gaps related to safety standards, bunkering infrastructure and detailed regulatory provisions. From a market perspective, ENGIMMONIA highlighted that technical readiness alone is insufficient to enable uptake. Clear value propositions must be demonstrated to shipowners, linking fuel savings, emission reductions and operational reliability to specific vessel segments. Early involvement of end users proved essential to align technology design with real operational constraints, particularly regarding space, retrofit complexity and maintenance requirements. Market deployment should prioritise vessels and routes where benefits are most tangible, enabling first commercial references. Finally, confidence building through full‑scale demonstrations, transparent performance data and standardised solutions emerged as a key lesson to reduce perceived risk and accelerate the transition from pilot applications to bankable commercial offerings.
In parallel, ENGIMMONIA developed and validated complementary clean energy technologies, including compact Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) systems for waste heat recovery, adsorption chillers, lightweight photovoltaic composite panels and advanced onboard energy management systems. These solutions were successfully designed, integrated and demonstrated on different vessel types, showing measurable energy savings and emission reduction potential. The results highlighted that technical effectiveness and economic viability depend strongly on vessel type, size and operational profile, with larger vessels offering higher decarbonisation potential due to greater energy demand and waste heat availability.
The project also delivered advanced modelling tools, life‑cycle cost and environmental assessments, and scale‑up analyses, demonstrating that integrated configurations combining multiple technologies provide the greatest benefits. From a regulatory perspective, ENGIMMONIA generated valuable evidence to support the development of international guidelines for ammonia as a marine fuel, while identifying remaining gaps related to safety standards, bunkering infrastructure and detailed regulatory provisions. From a market perspective, ENGIMMONIA highlighted that technical readiness alone is insufficient to enable uptake. Clear value propositions must be demonstrated to shipowners, linking fuel savings, emission reductions and operational reliability to specific vessel segments. Early involvement of end users proved essential to align technology design with real operational constraints, particularly regarding space, retrofit complexity and maintenance requirements. Market deployment should prioritise vessels and routes where benefits are most tangible, enabling first commercial references. Finally, confidence building through full‑scale demonstrations, transparent performance data and standardised solutions emerged as a key lesson to reduce perceived risk and accelerate the transition from pilot applications to bankable commercial offerings.
The project started in May 2021 and reached the end of the second period by the end of April 2024 (M36).
During the period all the Work Packages have started and have advanced according with plans. Some deviations and delays have been noticed.
WP1 is about the overall project management.
The objectives of WP2 are the development of experimentally validated prediction tools needed for designing and optimizing commercial applications of ammonia powered ship engines.
The aim of WP3 is to evaluate the engine out emissions of full-scale engines operating on ammonia fuel. A particular focus has been given on N2O emissions to guarantee the reduction of GHG using non-carbon-based fuel such as ammonia.
The objectives of WP4 are categorized in three pillars: development and evaluation of N2O abatement solution, improvement of existing aftertreatment systems and control strategies (SCR) for the ammonia engine and assessment of overall emission performance.
WP5 provides the basic design for the green technologies to be integrated on board: the ORC system, the adsorption chiller, the PV panels, and the energy management system. The WP is advancing according to plans and no major deviations can be observed.
WP6 deals with the integration of all the technologies on board. The most difficult action here is to coordinate the planned timing of activities with the availability of ships . However, this initial phase of integration (ORC) is proceeding with no major deviations. Respect to the initial selection of demo ships, a different oil tanker has been proposed (Princess Vanya instead of City of Tokyo).
WP7 targets the modelling of the ENGIMMONIA technologies, enabling their techno-economic evaluation, environmental and market assessment as well as scale-up feasibility.
WP8 is about the investigation of non-technical aspects. Monitoring of IMO and EC target group activities is carried out constantly and an in-depth analysis was carried out focusing on Regulatory framework, Classification requirements, Certification schemes for marine equipment and Test procedures, supplemented with interpretation on requirements appliance that came also from the participation to WP5 and WP6 works
WP9 takes care of the dissemination, communication and exploitation of results and has already reached some of its goals, thanks to a well-planned participation/organization of events and the involvement of stakeholders
During the period all the Work Packages have started and have advanced according with plans. Some deviations and delays have been noticed.
WP1 is about the overall project management.
The objectives of WP2 are the development of experimentally validated prediction tools needed for designing and optimizing commercial applications of ammonia powered ship engines.
The aim of WP3 is to evaluate the engine out emissions of full-scale engines operating on ammonia fuel. A particular focus has been given on N2O emissions to guarantee the reduction of GHG using non-carbon-based fuel such as ammonia.
The objectives of WP4 are categorized in three pillars: development and evaluation of N2O abatement solution, improvement of existing aftertreatment systems and control strategies (SCR) for the ammonia engine and assessment of overall emission performance.
WP5 provides the basic design for the green technologies to be integrated on board: the ORC system, the adsorption chiller, the PV panels, and the energy management system. The WP is advancing according to plans and no major deviations can be observed.
WP6 deals with the integration of all the technologies on board. The most difficult action here is to coordinate the planned timing of activities with the availability of ships . However, this initial phase of integration (ORC) is proceeding with no major deviations. Respect to the initial selection of demo ships, a different oil tanker has been proposed (Princess Vanya instead of City of Tokyo).
WP7 targets the modelling of the ENGIMMONIA technologies, enabling their techno-economic evaluation, environmental and market assessment as well as scale-up feasibility.
WP8 is about the investigation of non-technical aspects. Monitoring of IMO and EC target group activities is carried out constantly and an in-depth analysis was carried out focusing on Regulatory framework, Classification requirements, Certification schemes for marine equipment and Test procedures, supplemented with interpretation on requirements appliance that came also from the participation to WP5 and WP6 works
WP9 takes care of the dissemination, communication and exploitation of results and has already reached some of its goals, thanks to a well-planned participation/organization of events and the involvement of stakeholders
WP2: Despite delays in deliverables due to lab constraints, WP2 successfully developed and validated predictive tools for ammonia spray, combustion, and pollutant formation.
WP3: WP3 continued to support emission characterization from ammonia-fueled engines, contributing improved data for downstream work.
WP4: WP4 made significant advances in N2O abatement using a high-performance catalyst, selecting top formulations for further assessment.
WP5: WP5 finalized the design, installation, and evaluation of clean energy systems on demo vessels, overcoming earlier delays.
WP6: WP6 achieved successful onboard integration of new technologies despite schedule disruptions, capturing key operational lessons.
WP7: WP7 delivered a holistic performance and market assessment, emphasizing system readiness over acceptability based on robust simulations and stakeholder input.
WP8: WP8 monitored regulatory evolution, marking progress with IMO’s interim ammonia guidelines and exploring refueling infrastructure feasibility.
WP9: WP9 ensured widespread dissemination and stakeholder engagement through publications, events, and feedback mechanisms.
WP3: WP3 continued to support emission characterization from ammonia-fueled engines, contributing improved data for downstream work.
WP4: WP4 made significant advances in N2O abatement using a high-performance catalyst, selecting top formulations for further assessment.
WP5: WP5 finalized the design, installation, and evaluation of clean energy systems on demo vessels, overcoming earlier delays.
WP6: WP6 achieved successful onboard integration of new technologies despite schedule disruptions, capturing key operational lessons.
WP7: WP7 delivered a holistic performance and market assessment, emphasizing system readiness over acceptability based on robust simulations and stakeholder input.
WP8: WP8 monitored regulatory evolution, marking progress with IMO’s interim ammonia guidelines and exploring refueling infrastructure feasibility.
WP9: WP9 ensured widespread dissemination and stakeholder engagement through publications, events, and feedback mechanisms.