ABB, SwitcH2 partner on offshore green ammonia FPSO

ABB has signed a term sheet agreement with SwitcH2 to engineer and supply automation and electrification solutions for SwitcH2’s floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) unit.

ABB, SwitcH2 partner on offshore green ammonia FPSO

The FPSO facility will be stationed off the coast of Portugal and powered by certified renewable electricity from the national grid under a Power Purchase Agreement. It will feature a 300-megawatt (MW) electrolyser with the potential to produce up to 243,000 tonnes of green ammonia annually.

As part of the term sheet agreement, ABB intends to deliver a prefabricated eHouse, electrical distribution systems and ABB Ability™ System 800xA® Integrated Control and Safety System (ICSS) with full cyber security integration.

These modular, ready-to-deploy systems will help ensure safe, efficient and reliable operations offshore. ABB’s solutions will fully integrate with third-party equipment, including electrolysers and ammonia synthesis units.

Saskia Kunst, CEO of SwitcH2, said: “This collaboration represents a key step in advancing offshore production capabilities for next-generation marine fuels.

“By integrating ABB’s advanced electrification and automation systems, we are demonstrating how technology-driven partnerships can accelerate innovation, shaping the future of energy at sea.”

The FPSO will utilise treated seawater and use electrolysis to produce green hydrogen. This hydrogen will be combined with nitrogen extracted from the air to create green ammonia. Once synthesised, the ammonia will be condensed and stored onboard.

It will then be transferred to carrier ships via a floating hose system for transport to ports where it can be used as a marine fuel or cracked back to hydrogen for industrial use.

Green ammonia is emerging as a scalable solution for decarbonising hard-to-abate sectors such as shipping, which contributes approximately two percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.

Per Erik Holsten, President of ABB’s Energy Industries division, stated: “As with other hard-to-abate industries, we are committed to helping the marine sector operate leaner and cleaner. Our leading technologies in automation and electrification will enable this project to run with greater efficiency.

“Green ammonia offers a technically viable method for decarbonising marine transport, and this FPSO concept showcases how renewable energy can be leveraged to unlock low carbon energy value chains.”

Front-end engineering and design (FEED) work is expected to run until summer 2026, with a Final Investment Decision (FID) due by the third quarter of 2026. Detailed engineering and construction will then follow in 2027.

Last month, Hanwha Ocean awarded ABB the contract to supply a complete electric power and propulsion system for Singapore’s first floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal.