[DigitalToday reporter Dae-geon Seok] Ecopro HN said it has secured a key technology for commercialising ammonia-powered ships. Ecopro HN said on Sunday it has developed a megawatt-class ammonia engine purification system for the first time in South Korea with HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering and the Korean Register, and held a technology demonstration.

In 2023, Ecopro HN joined a government project under the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries to develop integrated management technology for ship greenhouse gas emissions and began developing an ammonia engine purification system. The company said it led key areas of the aftertreatment system, including catalyst reactor design, optimisation of catalyst activation temperature and technologies to improve exhaust gas purification performance, and succeeded in developing a microwave catalyst-heated exhaust gas aftertreatment system.

A catalyst breaks down and converts greenhouse gases into harmless substances, but it must be heated above a certain temperature to activate it. The technology directly heats the catalyst using microwaves, allowing precise control of the activation temperature. Catalyst reactions are typically implemented by raising the temperature of the entire exhaust gas using heaters and burners. Precisely heating only the catalyst can minimise fuel consumption. It also removes the need to install separate devices for using fossil fuels, such as heaters and burners.

Ecopro HN said it will work with HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering and the Korean Register to further advance the technology. It will also continue additional technical verification to secure performance and reliability in real operating environments. It plans to develop and commercialise exhaust gas aftertreatment systems not only for ammonia-fuel engines but also for engines based on various next-generation fuels.

Sang-jun Park (박상준), an executive director at Ecopro HN, said, "Ecopro HN is a company that has pursued various environmentally friendly businesses, including fine dust reduction equipment, based on independently developed catalyst technology." He added, "By succeeding in developing an ammonia-fuel aftertreatment system, we have also been able to secure the business and technological competitiveness to lead the era of zero-carbon, environmentally friendly ships."