Maria Gallucci

Fuel cells create electricity through a chemical reaction, and that's what drives the ship's motors and turns to propellers.

In Norway, work is underway to launch the world's first ammonia fuel cell ship in just a few years' time.

So we can make green ammonia, and we can use it in fuel cells or engines.

The final piece of the ammonia puzzle is the infrastructure, the storage facilities, the pipelines, the distribution networks, everything that's needed to ensure a ship can fill its tanks anywhere in the world.

And none of this is particularly novel because we already have infrastructure for the chemical and fertilizer industries.

Now it just needs to be built near ports and at a global scale, and with great caution.

So what's needed to take ammonia mainstream?

We can draw a rough parallel to the rise of electric cars.

A decade ago, about 17,000 EVs were on the roads worldwide.

Then more and more countries adopted policies encouraging people to buy EVs, supporting manufacturers, and to build up charging infrastructure.

And as sales climbed and production boomed, the cost of batteries and other components plummeted, making it easier for more people to afford electric cars.

So now instead of 17,000 EVs, it's more like 10 million.

And green ammonia could follow a similar path in the shipping industry.

Policies to curb emissions and incentivize green investments could spur a shift away from fossil fuels.

And as ammonia catches on, fuel prices and technology costs could decline in step, enabling more ship operators to make the switch.

And while all of that is happening, a much bigger story will be playing out on the global scale.

The rising development and plunging costs of renewable energy supplies.

Giant offshore wind farms, sprawling solar arrays and other technologies could provide the electrons needed to make all that green ammonia.

Green ammonia might be the main fuel source on future cargo ships, but it doesn't have to be the only clean technology on board.

Ships will likely use a combination of tools.