Ammonia as an environmentally benign energy carrier for the fast growth of China

NEWS BRIEF: A research paper was published this week by a team from Xiamen Univeristy in China, which “proposes a scheme for an ammonia-based energy storage system in which ammonia, an environmentally benign hydrogen carrier, is expected to [resolve] the conflicts of renewable energy supply and consumption in China.”

The paper sees commercial potential for ammonia in sustainable energy applications, providing a solution to “the formidable challenge of hydrogen storage and long-distance transportation.” In this analysis, “enormous unused wind and solar power stations in western and northern China” would make ammonia (using carbon-free hydrogen made by electrolyzers), and transport the ammonia as an energy carrier to meet the “large demand on energy in central and eastern areas.”

RELATED LINKS: The team of researchers from Xiamen University provided an update on their projects in October 2018 at the NH3 Energy Topical Conference, in Pittsburgh, USA. The PDF of their presentation, Ammonia Progressing in China, is available online.

This opportunity for ammonia energy was the subject of another recent Ammonia Energy article, which discussed new analysis by the International Energy Agency: Green Chinese P2A Could Compete with Brown NH3.

SOURCE: Energy Procedia, Volume 158, February 2019, Pages 4986-4991. Open access at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.egypro.2019.01.668