【世界银行】氢及其主要衍生物的安全方面：政策制定者的文献综述-2025.2

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AKNOWLEDGENOTESERIESFORTHE

Safetyaspectsofhydrogenandits

mainderivatives:Aliteraturereviewforpolicymakers

Thebottomline.ThisLiveWirefocusesonsafetyconcernsassociatedwithhydrogenanditsmainderivatives:ammoniaandmethanol.Afteranexhaustivereviewoftheliteratureand

measuresonhydrogensafety,thestudysummarizedherefoundrobust,well-established

AuthorPublicDisclosureAuthorized

standardsdevelopedbyreputableinstitutions.Thisbriefemphasizesthecriticalimportanceofadheringtothesestandardsandencouragestheirfullimplementationtoensureeffectiveand

consistentsafetypractices.

Inaword…

Hydrogenisthesimplestandmostabundantelementintheuniverse

Sinceitsdiscoveryalmost250yearsagobyHenryCavendishandAntoineLavoisier,hydrogenhasbeenseenasatoolofprogress.Currently,hydrogenisusedinmanydifferentappli-cations,butnotdirectly;instead,mostapplicationsuseitstwomainderivatives,ammoniaandmethanol.

Hydrogenproducedfromrenewablesourcescanprovideenvironmentallyclean,affordable,andsecurefuelforelectricitygeneration,transportation,andothersectors(Tchouvelev2016).Whileitholdsimmensepotentialtorev-olutionizetheenergysector,italsopresentsuniquesafetychallengesthatmustbeaddressedtoensureitisproduced,stored,andutilizedsafely(DOE2016).Widespreadadoptionofhydrogenrequiresunderstandingitspropertiesandtheassociatedsafetyconcerns.

Sincehydrogenisnotfoundinitsfreeforminnature,itmustbeproduced.Cleanhydrogen—producedfromrenewableenergysourcesandfossilfuelswithresponsiblecarboncap-tureandstorage—canplayanimportantroleintheglobalenergytransition,acceleratingprogresstowardglobalcli-mategoals.

Asanenergycarrier,hydrogencanbeusedtostore,move,anddeliverenergy.Derivativechemicalproductswithhighaddedvalue,suchasammoniaormethanol,canalsobeobtainedfromhydrogen.Thesederivativesenableefficientstorageandtransportofhydrogen,makingthemcrucialcomponentsintheshifttowardsustainableenergysystems.Byleveragingthesetechnologies,industriescanreducetheircarbonfootprintandcontributetoamoresustainablefuture.

Thedeploymentofcleanhydrogenisparticularlyimportantfordecarbonizinghard-to-abatesectors,suchassteelpro-ductionandlong-haultransportation.Butasglobaleffortstodevelopcleanhydrogenintensify,itisessentialtoguaran-teethatrisksaremanagedeffectively.

CarmenCondePardavilaisanenergyanalystwiththeEnergySectorManagementAssistanceProgramattheWorldBank

2Safetyaspectsofhydrogenanditsmainderivatives:Aliteraturereviewforpolicymakers

Thisbriefoffersanoverviewofthemainrisksassociatedwithhydrogenanditsprimaryderivatives,ammoniaandmeth-anol.Itaimstoenhancepolicymakersunderstandingofhydrogensafetyandpromotethedevelopmentofsafeandsustainablehydrogenpolicies.Tothisend,itsynthesizescur-rentresearch,identifiespotentialrisks,andoffersactionablerecommendationstoensurethesafeandefficientintegra-tionofhydrogentechnologies.Internationalbestpracticeswillnotbeaddressedsincetherearenocleargloballeadersinhydrogensafety.

Let’sstartwithhydrogen,beforemovingontoammoniaandmethanol.Whatareitschiefpropertiesandsafetyconcerns?

Safeutilizationofhydrogenrequiresmeticulous

managementofthesafetychallengespresentedbyitsuniqueproperties

Hydrogenisacolorless,odorless,andhighlyflammablegasunderstandardconditions.Itisthelightestelement,withamolecularweightofjust2.02gramspermole.Hydrogenswideflammabilityrangeinair(475percentbyvolume),lowignitionenergy(0.02millijoules[mJ]),andhighdiffusivitymeanthatitcaneasilyspreadinandmixwithair.Inaddi-tion,hydrogenburnswithanalmostinvisibleflame,posingchallengesfordetectionandfirefighting(DOE2016).

Amongtheprimaryconcernsishydrogensexplosiveness.Evenminorleakscanquicklyresultintheformationofexplo-sivemixtureswithair,highlightingthecriticalneedforstrin-gentleakdetectionandeffectiveventilationmeasures(DNV2021).

“Cleanhydrogen—producedfromrenewableenergysourcesandfossilfuelswith

responsiblecarboncaptureandstorage—canplayanimportantroleintheglobalenergytransition,acceleratingprogresstoward

globalclimategoals.”

Thestorageandhandlingofhydrogenthusposessignificantchallenges.Hydrogencanbestoredeitherasacompressedgasorinacryogenicliquidstate.Compressedhydrogenstoragerequireshigh-pressuresystemsthatcanwithstandpressuresupto700bars.Alternatively,storinghydrogenasaliquidnecessitatesextremelylowtemperatures,below253°C,demandingadvancedinsulationandcarefulhan-dlingtopreventboil-offandleaks.Bothstoragemethodsrequirerobustcontainmentsolutionstominimizetheriskofleaksandensuresafety(Calabreseetal.2024).

Anothercrucialissueismaterialcompatibility.Hydrogenhasthepotentialtocauseembrittlementincertainmet-als,whichcanleadtothefailureofpipelinesandoftanksandotherstoragevessels.Specialmaterialsandprotectivecoatingsarerequiredtomaintaintheintegrityofhydrogenstorageandtransportsystems(Calabreseetal.2024).

Finally,thedetectionandmonitoringofhydrogenleakspresenttheirownsetofchallenges.Giventhathydrogenisbothodorlessandcolorless,detectingleakswithoutspecial-izedsensorscanbeexceedinglydifficult.Reliablehydrogendetectionsystemsmustthereforebeimplementedattheoutsetofanyprojecttodetectleaksearlyandpreventhaz-ardoussituations.

Fullyrealizinghydrogenspotentialasacleanenergysource,whileensuringthesafetyofpeopleandinfrastructure,requiresaddressingthesesafetyconcernsusingrigorouscontrols,safetyprotocols,andcontinuousmonitoring.

Hydrogenisnomoreorlessdangerousthanotherflam-mablefuels,includinggasolineandnaturalgas.Thesafetyconcernssurroundinghydrogenarenotacauseforalarm,butaresimplydifferentfromthecustomaryconcernssur-roundinggasolineornaturalgas.Infact,someofhydrogensparticularitiesactuallyprovidesafetybenefitscomparedwithgasolineorotherfuels.Someofthemostnotablediffer-encesarelistedbelow(NHA2010).

Hydrogenislighterthanairanddiffusesrapidly.Hydrogenhashighdiffusivity(3.8timesfasterthanthatofnaturalgas);thismeansthat,whenreleased,itdilutesquicklyintoanon-flammableconcentration.Hydrogenrisestwiceasfastasheliumandsixtimesfasterthannaturalgasataspeedof

Safetyaspectsofhydrogenanditsmainderivatives:Aliteraturereviewforpolicymakers3

almost45milesperhour(20m/s).Therefore,unlessaroof,apoorlyventilatedroom,orsomeotherstructurecontainstherisinggas,thelawsofphysicspreventhydrogenfromlingeringnearaleak(ornearpeopleusinghydrogen-fueledequipment).Simplystated,tobecomeafirehazard,hydro-genmustfirstbeconfinedbutconfiningthelightestele-mentintheuniverseisverydifficult.Engineersconsiderthesepropertieswhendesigningstructureswherehydrogenwillbeused.Theirdesignshelphydrogenescapeupandawayfromusersincaseofanunexpectedrelease.

Hydrogenisodorless,colorless,andtasteless,somosthumansenseswillnothelpdetectaleak.Forthatandotherreasons,theindustryoftenuseshydrogensensorstohelpdetectleaksandhasmaintainedahighsafetyrecordusingthesefordecades.Bycomparison,naturalgasisalsoodorless,colorless,andtasteless,buttheindustryaddsasulfur-con-tainingodorant,calledmercaptan,tomakeitdetectablebysmell.However,allknownodorantscontaminatefuelcells(apopularapplicationforhydrogen).Researchersareinvesti-gatingotherpossiblehydrogendetectionmethods:tracers,newodoranttechnologies,advancedsensors,andothers.

Hydrogenflameshavelowradiantheat.Hydrogencom-bustionprimarilyproducesheatandwater.Sinceitproducesnotcarbonbutaheat-absorbingwatervapor,ahydrogenfirehassignificantlylessradiantheatthanahydrocarbonfire.Theheatreleasednearahydrogenflameislow(thoughtheflameitselfisjustashot),meaningthattheriskofsec-ondaryfiresisalsolow.Thisfacthassignificantimplicationsforthepublicandforrescueworkers.

“Tobecomeafirehazard,hydrogenmustfirstbeconfined—butconfiningthelightestelementintheuniverseisverydifficult.”

Combustion.Likeanyflammablefuel,hydrogencancom-bust.However,itsbuoyancy,diffusivity,andsmallmolecularsizemakeitdifficulttocontain,soasituationwhereitmightcombustishardtocreate.Anadequateconcentrationofhydrogen,anignitionsource,andtherightamountofoxi-dizer(likeoxygen)mustallbepresentatthesametimeforahydrogenfiretooccur.Hydrogenhasawideflammabilityrange(475percentinair)andmightrequirequitealowamountofenergytoignite(0.02mJ).However,theenergyrequiredtoigniteitishighatlowconcentrations(below10percent)similartotheenergyrequiredtoignitenaturalgasandgasolineintheirrespectiveflammabilityrangesmak-inghydrogenrealisticallymoredifficulttoignitenearthelowerflammabilitylimit.Ontheotherhand,ifconditionsallowanincreaseofhydrogensconcentrationtowardthestoichiometric(mosteasilyignited)mixtureof29percent(inair),thentheignitionenergydropstoaboutone-fifteenthofthatrequiredtoignitenaturalgas(orone-tenthforgasoline).Table1summarizesthemainpropertiesofwidelyusedfuels.

Explosion.Anexplosioncannotoccurinatankoranycon-tainmentthatstoresonlyhydrogen.Anexplosionrequiresanoxidizerinaspecificconcentration(e.g.,pureoxygeninaconcentrationofatleast10percentorairinaconcentrationof41percent).Hydrogencanbeexplosiveatconcentra-tionsof18.359percent.Whilethisrangeiswide,itisworth

Table1.Comparisonofthepropertiesofwidelyusedfuels

Hydrogen

Ammonia

Gasolinevapor

Naturalgas

Flammabilitylimits(inair)

4–75%

15–28%

1.4–7.6%

5.3–15%

Explosionlimits(inair)

18.3–59.0%

15–28%

1.1–3.3%

5.7–14%

Ignitionenergy(millijoules)

0.02

0.2

0.20

0.29

Flametemperatureinair(ºC)

2,045

1,800

2,197

1,875

Stoichiometricmixture(mosteasilyignitedinair)

29%

15%

2%

9%

Source:OriginalcompilationbasedonNHA(2010),NewJerseyDepartmentofHealth(2016),NationalInstituteforOccupationalSafetyandHealth(2024),andKobayashietal.(2018).

4Safetyaspectsofhydrogenanditsmainderivatives:Aliteraturereviewforpolicymakers

rememberingthatgasolinecanbemorehazardous,sinceitcanexplodeatmuchlowerconcentrations(1.13.3per-cent).Further,thereisverylittlelikelihoodthathydrogenwillexplodeinopenair,becauseofitstendencytorisequickly.Thisistheoppositeofheaviergasessuchaspropaneorgas-olinefumes,whichhoverneartheground,creatingagreaterexplosionrisk.

“Occasionalexplosionsathydrogenrefuelingstationscontributetothepublic’sperceptionofhydrogenasunsafe,thoughtheexplosionriskisnotgreaterthanforothergases.”

Theneedforanoxidizerforahydrogenexplosionmeanstheexplosionriskislowerthancommonlyperceived.Itneverthe-lessremainsasafetyconcernthatneedstobeaddressed.Occasionalexplosionsathydrogenrefuelingstations,forexample,in

GermanyinJune2024

orin

NorwayinJanuary

2024

(Electrive2024),contributetothepublicsperceptionofhydrogenasunsafe,thoughtheexplosionriskisnotgreaterthanforothergases.Butsincehydrogenisarelativelynewindustry,theseincidentscreatesignificantpublicaversion.Implementingmoresecuritymeasuresanddisseminatingriskassessmentsforexample,the

“HydrogenLeakageRisk

AssessmentforHydrogenRefuelingStations,”

publishedintheInternationalJournalofHydrogenEnergyin2023couldhelpimprovehydrogensimage(WangandGao2023).

Asphyxiation.Allgasesexceptoxygencancauseasphyx-iation.However,hydrogensbuoyancyanddiffusivitymeanthatinmostscenarios,itisunlikelytobeconfinedsufficientlyforasphyxiation.

Toxicity/poison.Hydrogenisnontoxicandnonpoisonous.Itwillnotcontaminategroundwater(itisagasundernormalatmosphericconditions),norwillitsreleasepollutetheenvi-ronment.Hydrogendoesnotcreate“fumes.”

Cryogenicburns.Anycryogenicliquid(hydrogenbecomesaliquidbelow-423°F)cancauseseverefreezeburnsuponcontactwithskin.However,thecurrentmethodtokeep

hydrogenultra-coldusesdouble-walled,vacuum-jacketed,superinsulatedliquidhydrogenstoragecontainersthataredesignedtoventhydrogensafelyingaseousformifabreachofeithertheouterortheinnerwallisdetected.Theserobustconstructionandredundantsafetyfeaturesdramaticallyreducethelikelihoodofhumancontact.

Formoreinformationonhydrogenspropertiesandmainsafetyconcerns,thefollowingsourcesmaybeconsulted:

√“

PropertiesandEffectsofHydrogen

”(EIGA2019,chapter4)

√“

HydrogenHasUniquePhysicalPropertiesMakingIt

SignificantlyMoreReactiveWhenComparedtoMethane

”(AccufactsInc.2022,chapter4)

√

HydrogenTechnologiesSafetyGuide

(NREL2015)

√“SafetyAspectsofGreenHydrogenProductiononIndustrialScale”(ISPT2023)

√“

HydrogenSafetyChallenges:AComprehensiveReview

onProduction,Storage,Transport,Utilization,andCFD-

BasedConsequenceandRiskAssessment

”(Calabreseetal.2024)

√

TheHydrogenIncidentandAccidentsDatabase-HIAD2.1

(EuropeanCommission2023c)

√“

Hydrogen:HowtoMeettheSafetyChallenges

”(Dräger2020)

√“RegulatoryFramework,SafetyAspects,andSocialAcceptanceofHydrogenEnergyTechnologies,”chapter6ofScienceandEngineeringofHydrogen-BasedEnergyTechnologies(Tchouvelev,deOliveira,andNeves2018)

√

TheCenterforHydrogenSafety(CHS2024)

,aglobalnon-profitfoundedin2019toprovideguidance,education,andcollaborativeforumsonhydrogensafetyandglobalbestpractices

√

HydrogenSafetyReview

(NETL2023)

√

FundamentalsofHydrogenSafetyEngineeringII

(Molkov2012).

Safetyaspectsofhydrogenanditsmainderivatives:Aliteraturereviewforpolicymakers5

Apartfromtheabovereferences,theEuropeanCommissionJointResearchCentre,throughtheMajorAccidentsHazardsBureauandinparticulartheMinervaPortal,organizedatwo-part

webinaronhydrogenrisks

—thefirstpartinSeptember2023andthesecondinFebruary2024(EuropeanCommission2023a,2024).Itwasacomprehen-sivewebinar;manycountriesparticipated(e.g.,Germany,theNetherlands,Japan,Finland,France,andtheUnitedKingdom).Participantsdiscussedthemostrelevantsafetyissuesintheindustry,revealingdifferentconcernsatthenationalandinternationallevels.ForthepurposeofthisLiveWire,a

EuropeanCommissiondocumentoutliningrelevant

reliablehydrogensafetyresources

isparticularlynoteworthy(EuropeanCommission2023b).

DevelopmentinstitutionssuchastheInter-AmericanDevelopmentBank(IDB)haveconductedstudiesongreenhydrogen’ssafety.“

Environmental,Health,Safety,andSocial

ManagementofGreenHydrogeninLatinAmericaandthe

Caribbean

”waspublishedinMay2023.

Movingontoammonia,whatareitschiefsafetychallenges?

Althoughnomoreorlessdangerousthanotherfuels,ammonia’ssafetyprofileisdistinct

Ammonia(NH₃)isaclear,colorlessgaswithapungentodoratroomtemperatureandunderatmosphericpressure.Undernormalconditions,itishighlysolubleinwaterandformsasolutionknownasammoniumhydroxide(NH₄OH),whichisaweakbase.Forindustrialpurposes,ammoniaistypicallypressurizedandcooledtobestoredandtransportedasaliquidtoincreaseefficiencyandsafety.

AmmoniaistypicallyproducedviatheHaber-Boschprocess,ahigh-temperatureandhigh-pressurecatalyticreactionbetweennitrogen(N₂)andhydrogen(H₂):

N2(g)+3H2(g)=2NH3(g)

Thisprocessisoneofthelargestindustrialusesoffossilfuelsandcontributesapproximately1percentofglobalcarbonemissions.However,ammoniahasanindispensableroleinagriculture,whereitisusedtoproducefertilizerssuchasurea,ammoniumnitrate,andammoniumsulfate.Thevastmajorityofammoniaproduced(about80percent)is

directedtowardfertilizers,while18percentisusedinindus-trialprocesses,andasmallpercentageisusedinrefrigera-tionandair-conditioningsystems.

“Ammoniatoxicityposesaparticularthreattoaquatichabitatsincoralreefs,polar

regions,andmangroves,withpotential

implicationsforfoodchaindynamics.

Effectivespillmanagementiscrucialto

preventcontaminationandprotectaquaticenvironments.”

TheHaber-Boschprocessisoftenconsideredtohavehighenergyandcostrequirements,butthevastmajorityoftheenergyinputs,carbondioxideemissions,capital,andopera-tionalcostsareactuallyrelatedtohydrogenproduction;thesynthesisofammoniafromhydrogenrequiresrelativelysmalladditionaleffortandinvestment.

Manylow-emissionammoniaplantsarenowunderdevelop-mentorhaverecentlybecomeoperational,demonstratingthetechnicalfeasibilityofdecarbonizingammoniaproduc-tion.Low-emissionammoniaplantsconstitutingover22.5milliontonsofcapacityarelikelytobecomeoperationalin2030;morethan293.3milliontonsareunderdevelopment(AmmoniaEnergyAssociation2024b).

Ammoniaisnomoreorlessdangerousthanotherfuels,includinghydrogen,gasoline,andnaturalgas.Itssafetyprofileisquitedifferent,however,withtoxicityandcausticityreplacingflammability.Aswithhydrogen,thesafetycon-cernssurroundingammoniaarenotacauseforalarmastheyarealreadywellknownandwellmanagedinexistingsectors(refrigeration,chemicals,agriculture),butknowledgetransferiscriticaltoensurethatothersectorsadoptammo-niasafely.Averyimportantfutureuseofgreenammoniawillbeasashippingfuel.

Someofthemostnotablerisksrelatedtoammoniaareasfollows.

6Safetyaspectsofhydrogenanditsmainderivatives:Aliteraturereviewforpolicymakers

Exposurerisk.Exposuretoammoniacanbehazardousduetoitscorrosivepropertiesandcausticity.Ammoniacancorrodemetalssuchascopper,brass,zinc,andsomealloys,causingstructuralfailuresinequipmentandcontainmentsystems.Thisposesriskstoindustrialinfrastructureandcanleadtoleaksorspills,whichmaycausefurtherhazards.

Causticityspecificallyrelatestoammonia’simmediateharmfulimpactonlivingorganismsthroughdirectcontact—unliketoxicity,whichinvolveslonger-termsystemiceffects.Ammoniaishighlyalkalineandcancauseseveredamagetoskin,eyes,andmucousmembranesupondirectcontact.Inhalationofammoniavaporscanleadtorespiratorytractirritation,swelling,orevenpermanentdamage,depend-ingonconcentrationlevels.Tomitigatethisrisk,theUSOccupationalSafetyandHealthAdministrationhassetthepermissibleexposurelimitforammoniaat50partspermil-lion(ppm)overaneight-hourworkday,andtheshort-termexposurelimitis35ppmfor15minutes.

Toxicity.Toxicityreferstothepotentialharmfuleffectsofsubstancesonaquaticlife.Whenaspilloccurs,toxicmate-rialscaninfiltratewaterbodies,causingsevereecologicaldamage.Prolongedexposurecandisruptmarineecosys-tems,poisoningfish,plants,andmicroorganisms.AccordingtotheEnvironmentalDefenseFund’s2022report”

Ammonia

atSea:StudyingthePotentialImpactofAmmoniaasa

ShippingFuelonMarineEcosystems

,”toxicityposesapar-ticularthreattoaquatichabitatsincoralreefs,polarregions,andmangroves,withpotentialimplicationsforfoodchaindynamics.Effectivespillmanagementiscrucialtopreventcontaminationandprotectaquaticenvironments.Thisincludesstringentprotocolsforhandlingandcontainment,andemergencyresponsemeasurestominimizetoxicexpo-sureandmitigatelong-termenvironmentalimpacts.

Flammabilityandexplosivepotential.Ammoniaisclas-sifiedasaflammablegas,despiteitsnarrowflammabilitylimits:from15percentto28percentbyvolumeinair.Whenmixedwithair,especiallyathighconcentrations,ammoniacanformexplosivemixtures,posingsignificantrisksinindus-trialsettings.However,ammonia’srelativelyhighauto-igni-tiontemperature(651°C)makesaccidentalignitionlesslikelycomparedwithmorevolatilefuelslikemethaneorhydrogen.

Storageandhandling.Givenitshazards,ammoniamustbestoredandhandledfollowingstringentsafetyprotocols.Storagetanksmustbemadeofmaterialsthatcanresistammonia’scorrosiveeffects.Thesetanksareoftenequippedwithsafetyfeaturessuchaspressurereleasevalves,andtheymustbeinspectedregularlyforleaksorstructuralweaknesses.

Ifaleakoccurs,ammoniacanspreadrapidlyandmustbecontainedandevacuatedimmediately.Facilitieshandlingammoniainlargequantitiesareoftenrequiredtohaveemergencyresponseplans,includingammoniadetectionsystems,personalprotectiveequipmentforworkers,andaccesstomedicalfacilities.

Thefollowingaresomeusefulresourcesonthesafetyofammonia:

√“

SafetyAssessmentofAmmoniaasaTransportFuel

”(RisøNationalLaboratory2005)

√“

HydrogenandAmmoniaInfrastructure:SafetyandRisk

InformationandGuidance

”(Lloyd’sRegister2020)

√“

ReviewofGlobalRegulationsforAnhydrousAmmonia

Production,Use,andStorage

”(InstitutionofChemicalEngineers2016)

√

“AmmoniaSafetyStudy

”(ZeroCarbonShipping2022)

√

AmmoniaSafetyinAmmoniaPlantsandRelatedFacilities

Symposium

,anannualevent,organizedbytheAmericanInstituteofChemicalEngineerssince1955.

Further,numerousorganizationsmaintainammoniasafetystandards;examplesincludetheInternationalInstituteofAll-NaturalRefrigeration,aglobalorganizationdedicatedtopromotingtheuseofnaturalrefrigerantsincoolingandrefrigerationsystems.Theinstituteprovidesresources,stan-dards,andtechnicalguidancetoensurethesafe,efficient,andenvironmentallyfriendlyuseofnaturalrefrigerantssuchasammoniaandcarbondioxideinvariousapplications.ThefollowingstandardscovertheammoniadetectionandalarmrequirementsintheIIARStandards:

Safetyaspectsofhydrogenanditsmainderivatives:Aliteraturereviewforpolicymakers7

√ANSI/IIAR2-2021StandardforDesignofSafetyClosed-CircuitAmmoniaRefrigerationSystems(IIAR2019).

√

ANSI/IIAR6-2019StandardforInspection,Testing,and

MaintenanceofClosed-CircuitAmmoniaRefrigeration

System

(IIAR2021).

TheCompressedGasAssociationdevelopsandmaintainsstandardsrelatedtothesafestorage,handling,andtrans-portationofammonia,particularlyanhydrousammoniausedinindustrialapplications.Thesestandardscovervariousaspectsrelatedtotheuseofammonia(forexample,equip-mentdesign,safetypractices,andregulatorycompliance);helpensureammoniaisusedsafelyinindustrialapplica-tions;andminimizetherisksassociatedwithitstoxicityandflammability.

Ammoniaisgainingattentionasapotentialalterna-tivemarinefuelowingtoitscarbon-freecombustionandrelativelyhighenergydensitycomparedwithotherhydro-gencarriers.Severalreports,includingtheGlobalCentreforMaritimeDecarbonisation’s“

SafetyandOperational

GuidelinesforPilotingAmmoniaBunkeringinSingapore

”(GCMD2023)andtheEuropeanMaritimeSafetyAgency’sreport“

PotentialofAmmoniaasFuelinShipping

”(EMSA2022),highlightammonia’spotentialasashippingfuel,itsbenefits,andtheregulatoryframeworksupportingitsadop-tion.Theyhighlightthesafetychallengesandtheneedforfurthertechnologicalandregulatoryadvancementstosup-portitswidespreaduse.

Severalotherorganizationsarealsoworkingonreportsortoolsregardingtheuseofammoniaasafuel.Forinstance,theCleanMarineFuelsWorkingGroupwithintheWorldPortsSustainabilityProgramhassignedamemorandumofunder-standingwiththeSocietyofGasasaMarineFueltodevelopsafetytoolsforammoniaasafuel(WPSP2024).

TheNetherlands

updateditsPGS-12guidelines

forammo-niastorageandhandling,preparingforincreasedammo-niaimportstothecountry(AmmoniaEnergyAssociation2024d).(TheDCMR(theDutchenvironmentalprotectionagency)haspermittedOCIGlobaltobuilda60,000-tonammoniastoragetankinRotterdam.)Some

keychangesfor

thePGS-12code

intheNetherlandsinclude(1)submergedpumpsforammonialoadingandunloadingoverthetopof

thetank(insteadofonthesideofthetank),and(2)atertiaryconcreteouterwalltominimizetheeffectofanyexternalimpact(Yara2023).

“Thetransitiontoammoniaasamarine

fuelwillrequiresignificantinvestment

ininfrastructure,includingspecialized

bunkeringfacilitiesandretrofittingshipswithammonia-compatibleengines.”

Amainsafetyconcernwithusingammoniaasamarinefuelrevolvesarounditstoxicityandthepotentialforleaksduringbunkering,storage,andon-boardhandling.AGCMD(2023)reportonammoniabunkeringinSingaporeemphasizestheneedforrobustsafetyguidelines,includingthedevelopmentofdouble-walledbunkeringlinesandtankstominimizetheriskofleaks,theimplementationofadvancedventilationandneutralizationsystemstopreventammoniabuild-up,andeffortsensurin