Japan unveils world's first commercial ammonia-powered ship engine

Japan Engine Corporation (J-ENG) announced yesterday in a press release that it has successfully completed the world's first full-scale dual-fuel ammonia engine. The dual-fuel engine is part of the Next-Generation Ship Development project under Japan's Green Innovation Fund — an initiative aimed at helping the shipping industry achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.

According to the press release, the engine achieved outstanding environmental performance in official tests. J-ENG claims that at 100% load with 95% ammonia co-firing rate, the engine achieved the following compared to conventional heavy oil engines:

• Over 90% reduction in nitrous oxide (N₂0) emissions
• Over 50% reduction in nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions
• Practically zero unburned ammonia emissions
• Equivalent or better thermal efficiency

J-ENG says the accomplishment is as a result of a meticulous, long-term development program that included over 1,000 hours of testing on a single-cylinder prototype and 700 hours on a full-scale version of the engine. The new engine was certified by ClassNK after a series of tests conducted in late August under the supervision of Nippon Yusen Kaisya (NYK Line), Nihon Shipyard Co. Ltd. (NSY), Japan Marine United Corporation (JMU), and Nippon Kaiji Kyokai (ClassNK).

The engine will be shipped in October 2025 for installation on a new AFMGC (Ammonia-Fueled Medium Gas Carrier) which is currently under construction. The vessel is due for commercial service by 2026, which will mark the deployment of the first full-scale ammonia engine. To meet anticipated demand, J-ENG is constructing a new factory to expand production of these engines, with the new facility scheduled to begin operations in 2028.

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