European shipowner signs offtake deal for Chinese green ammonia

The output will be used to fuel CMB.Tech's 11 new ammonia-powered ships

Major Belgian shipowner CMB.Tech has made significant investments in China's green ammonia supply chain as it awaits delivery of 11 ammonia-powered ships next year.

The New York-listed group has signed an offtake agreement for green ammonia produced by CEEC Hydrogen Energy — a unit of state-owned China Energy Engineering Corporation — at its Songyuan project in landlocked Jilin province, northeast China.

The green ammonia will be used to fuel its new vessels.

Construction on the first phase of this project was completed in September, and is due to begin commercial operation in January, producing about 158,000 tonnes of renewable ammonia annually. The exact amount that would be purchased by CMB.Tech has not been revealed.

“This will create an industrial partnership between two companies supporting maritime decarbonisation and the development of a green ammonia supply infrastructure,” CMB.Tech said.

Andefu will also build an ammonia storage terminal in the coastal prefecture-level city of Panjin, Liaoning province, which is about 635km from the city of Songyuan, where the CEEC project has been built.

This terminal is due to go into operation in the second half of 2027, “significantly enhancing China's large-scale green ammonia logistics and supply capabilities”, says CMB.Tech.

“Andefu is also advancing ship-to-ship (STS) ammonia bunkering operations, targeting commercial deployment in 2026, to support the emerging global ammonia-fuelled shipping fleet together with CMB.Tech,” the shipping company added.

All 11 of CMB.Tech's new dual-fuel ammonia-powered ships — 10 very large bulk carriers and one small container vessel — are being built in China, with the Belgian firm stating that they will “carry ammonia as a fuel onboard”.

“Green ammonia is also expected to become cost-competitive compared to diesel thanks to the falling cost of renewable energy, and the renewable energy storage and supply systems (solar panels, windmills, batteries, electrolysers).

“CMB.Tech will continue to engage with producers of green ammonia worldwide to source sufficient fuel for its green ships. Simultaneously, CMB.Tech’s ambition is to produce green ammonia in Namibia.”

Company CEO Alexander Saverys added: “Today marks a big milestone in our decarbonisation journey. With an investment in the Chinese ammonia supply chain, CMB.Tech will be able to provide green ammonia to its ships.

“It’s another important step towards the launch of our first ammonia-powered ships and zero-emission maritime transportation. 2026 will be a very important year for our company and our industry, as we hope to prove to the world that we can decarbonise today to navigate tomorrow!

Cover photo: A rendering of one of the ten ammonia-powered bulker vessels being built at the Qingdao Beihai Shipyard in China. Bocimar is a CMB.Tech subsidiary that transports 'bulks' such as iron ore, grain and coal.