In this episode, GCMD’s CEO Prof. Lynn Loo unpacks the learnings from two landmark pilots: ship-to-ship ammonia transfers in the Pilbara and a demonstration of an end-to-end value chain for onboard captured CO₂ in China.

She describes how safety risks, including toxicity, were managed during the first ship-to-ship transfer of liquid ammonia between two gas carriers, which was carried out in Western Australia. She also shares technical and operational insights from the pilot, which aims to provide guidelines for other ports to conduct trials and ultimately strengthen their confidence to develop ammonia bunkering capabilities.

Asked for her views on how and when this might unfold, she explains why she sees large bulk carriers on the iron ore corridor between Western Australia and Northern Asia as probable frontrunners – and why containerships are unlikely to be first movers on ammonia as a marine fuel even though they have been first movers on other fuels and decarbonisation measures. 

Lynn then discusses the results from another pilot that saw 25 metric tonnes of liquefied CO2 that had been captured on a ship being offloaded, transported, and used as feedstock in the production of low-carbon calcium carbonate. Demonstrating this possible end use for captured CO2 was a major first step, she highlights, adding that the next trials will focus on lifecycle assessments and solving some technical challenges. 

She also emphasises the importance of building trust in existing decarbonisation options, such as biofuels and energy efficiency technologies, to accelerate their uptake by the shipping industry. She outlines how GCMD is currently working on projects to improve biofuel traceability and validate the fuel savings delivered by energy efficiency technologies. 

Finally, she reflects on how the financial, operational, technical, and safety risks of the energy transition can be managed through a cross-sector collaborative approach.