Ammonia is increasingly emerging as one of the potential fuels for decarbonising deep-sea shipping, but moving from early projects to widespread commercial adoption will require progress across infrastructure, regulation, production costs and workforce readiness. In an interview with Antonia Saratsopoulou, Managing Editor of Container News, Karen Baert, Co-Founder and CEO of Ammobia, discussed what still stands between ammonia and large-scale maritime adoption, whether sufficient supply can be developed, how production costs could fall and where ammonia could ultimately fit within shipping’s future fuel mix. For Baert, the timeline facing the industry is significant. As she put it, 2050 is effectively “one ship lifetime away”, reflecting the long investment cycles involved in shipping and the time required for major changes across the fleet. Four barriers still stand in the way Baert identified four areas that need to progress before ammonia can move towards widespread adoption as a marine fuel: infrastructure, regulatory certainty, fuel costs and workforce readiness. The first is infrastructure. Ships need suitable engines and fuel-storage systems, while ports require infrastructure capable of supporting ammonia bunkering. Building that ecosystem will take time and investment. The second challenge is regulatory uncertainty. Baert said the expectation is that ammonia could become increasingly cost-effective over the long term. However, early adoption requires regulatory incentives to encourage first movers, while uncertainty around IMO and other regulatory measures can make it harder for companies to commit to major investments. The third barrier is the price of clean ammonia, which today is higher than conventional marine fuels. Finally, Baert highlighted workforce readiness. Ammonia itself is not new to shipping and has long been transported internationally as a commodity. Using it as a fuel in an engine room, however, creates different operation