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Mabanaft Partners With Hapag-Lloyd on Ammonia Bunker Supply
German energy firm Mabanaft is set to work with container line Hapag-Lloyd to develop ammonia bunker supply at Hamburg and Houston.
The two companies have signed a memorandum of understanding to evaluate options for the supply of ammonia as a bunker fuel in and around Hamburg and Houston, Mabanaft said in an emailed statement on Wednesday.
The firms will evaluate the commercial, technical and regulatory requirements for setting up ammonia supply at both ports.
Mabanaft is in the process of developing infrastructure in Hamburg for the import and supply of ammonia, as well as being a shareholder in Gulf Coast Ammonia LLC's ammonia production facility in Texas.
"We play an active role in shaping the energy transition and offer our customers innovative fuel solutions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions," Volker Ebeling, senior vice president of new energy, chemicals and gas at Mabanaft, said in the statement.
"In shipping, we intend to support that transition for example through investments in ammonia production and the development of related supply infrastructure."
Ammonia is widely expected to take up a significant share of the marine energy mix in future decades because of its lack of associated GHG emissions. But parts of the shipping industry remain wary of how it can be safely handled as a marine fuel, and further research and development work will be needed to provide reassurance on this point.