The Korea Materials Research Institute Has Developed Korea's First Highly Corrosion- and Wear-Resistant Carbon Coating Technology for Ammonia-Powered Vessels.

(The Korea Institute of Materials Science (KIMS) Google translation) Overcoming the limitations of rapid corrosion and wear of metal! --Overcoming the fatal limitation of ammonia that causes rapid corrosion and wear of metals

Development of next-generation, highly corrosion- and wear-resistant carbon coating technology that reliably protects components even in ammonia fuel environments.

A team led by Dr. Jang Young-jun and Dr. Kim Jong-guk of the Extreme Materials Research Center at the Korea Institute of Materials Science (KIMS, President Choi Cheol-jin) and Dr. Moon Seong-mo of the Energy and Environmental Materials Research Division have jointly developed a highly corrosion-resistant carbon coating technology for the first time in Korea to reduce the severe corrosion and wear problems associated with ammonia fuel. This technology is expected to become a key foundational technology that can accelerate the commercialization of eco-friendly ammonia-powered ships.

It is well known that existing ship metal materials (stainless steel 440C) are susceptible to repeated surface oxide film breakdown, localized corrosion, and wear during long-term operation due to the strong alkalinity and chemical reaction of ammonia. In particular, the structural vulnerability of components in direct contact with fuel, such as engines, valves, pumps, and bearings, has been clearly confirmed through experiments and empirical data. Therefore, securing highly corrosion-resistant surface technology is becoming a prerequisite for the design and classification certification stages of ammonia-powered ships.

The eco-friendly fuel ship carbon coating technology (ta-C:Hx) developed by the research team is a highly corrosion-resistant surface protection technology that fundamentally suppresses the rapid metal corrosion and wear problems that occur in ammonia fuel environments at extremely low temperatures as well as medium and low temperatures. Unlike existing ship materials that showed high corrosion currents of 48 microamperes per square centimeter (㎠) in ammonia solutions, the new coating reduced this to 4 microamperes per square centimeter (㎠), securing a corrosion reduction effect of approximately 92%.

The widely used nitride coating and wet plating (plating layer) technologies are optimized for seawater, air, and general process environments. However, their long-term reliability in highly alkaline and reactive fuel environments, such as ammonia, has not been sufficiently verified. In particular, the plating and nitride layers have limitations in that they cannot completely avoid pores, thickness variations, and interface defects due to the process characteristics. These areas can act as corrosion initiation points in highly corrosive environments. The key to this newly developed technology is a fundamental redesign of the process based on the ammonia environment. By applying pulse bias control to the magnetic filtered arc process, micropores and interface defects were minimized. In addition, by controlling the internal structure and electrical characteristics of the coating through hydrogen introduction, a stable carbon structure was created that suppressed corrosion even in aqueous ammonia solutions. This technology is evaluated as the only domestically developed surface coating technology that can meet the corrosion resistance standards required for ammonia-powered ship design and classification society certification.

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) requires that a certain percentage of international shipping fuels be converted to carbon-free fuels by 2030 through the '2023 IMO Greenhouse Gas Reduction Strategy', and the Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) has also approved the interim guidelines for ammonia-fueled ships, officially mandating corrosion resistance verification of fuel-system metal materials. Developed countries such as Japan, Norway, and Singapore are actively verifying the corrosion and wear performance of metal parts through ammonia-fueled ship demonstration projects. South Korea has also designated ammonia as a strategic area for the shipbuilding and shipping industries through the '2050 National Action Plan for Green Shipping' and the 'K-Ammonia Eco-Friendly Ship Promotion Strategy'. However, although domestic shipbuilders have secured the basic design (AiP), the lack of domestic surface coating technology that can operate reliably in highly corrosive environments has been pointed out as a key obstacle to commercialization. This technology is based on the carbon coating technology and environmental corrosion assessment capabilities accumulated through KIMS's own research projects, and has been developed to enhance the development of a high-corrosion-resistant coating exclusively for ammonia. It can be evaluated as having secured technological competitiveness that can practically achieve the level of corrosion resistance required by ammonia fuel systems.

Principal Researcher Jang Young-jun, who is in charge of the research, said, "If this technology is commercialized, it will provide a practical solution that enables long-distance navigation by improving the efficiency and reliability of core components for eco-friendly shipbuilding and vessels." Co-researchers Kim Jong-guk and Moon Seong-mo also stated, "What is unique about this research is that it focuses on technological advancement through collaboration between KIMS's internal technology and infrastructure, rather than introducing external technology. We expect this to not only strengthen the domestic industrial ecosystem but also significantly contribute to our future entry into the global market."

This research was supported by the KIMS In-house Research Project (Development of Cryogenic Tribology Technology for Commercialization) and the National Research Foundation of Korea (Nano and Materials Technology Development Project), funded by the Ministry of Science and ICT. The results were published online on December 1, 2025, in the internationally renowned journal Carbon (IF 11.6).

The research team is currently conducting process stabilization and repeatable reliability evaluations of coating technology for ammonia fuel environments. They are also conducting follow-up demonstration studies for application to actual ship components. Furthermore, based on the results of this research, the team is pursuing additional patents and plans to actively explore technology transfer and commercialization possibilities through collaboration with industry. READ MORE