en.Wedoany.com Reported - Japan's largest power generator, JERA, has signed charter agreements with Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) and Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK) to lease four newly built gas carriers, specifically for importing ammonia from Louisiana, USA, to be used as a fuel component at Japan's largest power station. The project is scheduled to commence operations in 2029 and may mark Japan's first transport of low-carbon ammonia as a fuel for power generation.

The project was launched in late 2022, with relevant companies beginning research on ammonia transport. NYK stated that to secure large quantities of ammonia as fuel at a lower cost, larger vessel sizes are necessary. The goal is to establish a large-scale ammonia transport system and a process for receiving ammonia. The parties signed a memorandum of understanding in late 2025, laying the foundation for the project.

NYK and MOL will each build two vessels based on the project design. Each vessel will be approximately 230 meters (750 feet) long, with a tank capacity of 87,000 cubic meters. MOL will build two ships at Kawasaki Heavy Industries, with delivery planned for the first half of 2027. NYK will build two ships at Kawasaki Heavy Industries' Sakaide Works, which can operate on liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) or very low sulfur fuel oil (VLSFO).

This project represents the latest case in the emerging field of ammonia-specific transport within the shipping industry. Ammonia not only has the potential to serve as a fuel for decarbonizing heavy industry but is also an optimal carrier for hydrogen.

JERA is planning to convert its power plants to use ammonia or co-fire it with other fuels. These four vessels will supply ammonia to the Hekinan Thermal Power Station, located on Japan's main island of Honshu, approximately 20 miles north of Nagoya City. This power plant is Japan's largest coal-fired power plant, with a maximum output of 4,100 megawatts.

The ammonia will be produced at the Blue Point project in Louisiana. JERA, together with CF Industries and Mitsui & Co., is investing in the construction of what is planned to be the world's largest ammonia production plant, set to begin operations in 2029. CF Industries, which leads the project, reports a nameplate capacity of 1.4 million metric tons. The project is expected to cost $4 billion and will include the construction of an autothermal reforming (ATR) ammonia production facility, along with carbon dioxide (CO2) dehydration and compression units to prepare captured CO2 for transport and storage.

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