Engineering experts at Brunel will help test whether ammonia could replace diesel in working ships, as part of a government-funded push to clean up maritime emissions.
The study will focus on offshore support vessels — ships that move equipment and workers between ports and offshore sites — which still rely on high-pollution diesel engines.
Brunel will test how ammonia burns inside an engine, using specialist lab rigs to examine fuel spray patterns and combustion behaviour.
“Brunel has long pioneered ammonia research, from fuel blends for lorries to new applications in shipping,” said Prof Xinyan Wang at Brunel’s Centre for Advanced Powertrain and Fuels.
“We’re delighted to be working with other leaders in their fields to take the next step in proving ammonia’s potential as a zero-carbon fuel and in setting the standards to decarbonise one of the hardest sectors.”
The project, called FASTMOVE, is backed by the Department for Transport under its £230m UK SHORE scheme. It combines engineering firm Ricardo, Brunel, and the Port of Cromarty Firth in the Scottish Highlands.
Ricardo will design the new system, aiming for a four-stroke marine engine that runs mostly on ammonia with minimal emissions. Cromarty Firth will lead work on safety risks in port storage and ship fuelling.
The study will run until spring 2026. If successful, it could help steer UK shipping away from fossil fuels and towards ammonia — a fuel with zero carbon but difficult to handle safely.
Richard Osborne, Ricardo’s Global Technical Expert in Sustainable Engines, said: “This feasibility study gives us the opportunity to look at the potential benefits and challenges of the use of four-stroke ammonia-fuelled marine engines in offshore support vessels, determining whether they will offer a more sustainable solution in this part of the maritime sector.”
The Port of Cromarty Firth’s Joanne Allday, Head of Strategy and Business Development added: “We’re excited to be able to understand how ammonia can help the Port to offer cleaner fuels to our customers as part of the transition to clean energy, and to also play a foundational role in helping to establish the safety standards for use of this future fuel in the UK and beyond.”
The project starts this month and ends in Spring 2026.
Reported by:
Hayley Jarvis,
Media Relations
hayley.jarvis@brunel.ac.uk