ASPIRE renewable demonstrator begins operations in the UK

300kg per day plant in Oxford designed to be powered by “surplus wind”

Click to enlarge. Diagram of the ASPIRE renewable ammonia plant. Source: STFC.

After receiving funding from the UK government in 2022, the Ammonia Synthesis Plant from Intermittent Renewable Energy (ASPIRE) project is now online outside of Oxford, UK. The demonstrator is powered by a 150kW grid connection and 137 kW of onsite renewable energy, which together are able to simulate variable energy inputs. It features a 100kW PEM electrolyser system and 50 kWh battery, and will produce 300kg per day of renewable ammonia via a containerized, modular system, which has been designed to scale up to connect to 200 MW of wind energy. The ASPIRE plant is located on the site of the UK’s first green ammonia demonstration plant (the Siemens-led demonstrator, which came online in 2018 and has since been decommissioned).

Today marks the culmination of years of intensive research and engineering innovation. What makes ASPIRE notable is its ability to produce ammonia at variable rates and its readiness for scalability in industry. ASPIRE is not just a technical achievement – it is a practical solution that can transform unused wind energy from a challenge into a valuable resource.

Tristan Davenne, Principal Engineer at the STFC Energy Research Unit and ASPIRE project lead, in the UK Research & Innovation’s official press release, 18 Dec 2025

Wind energy (and particularly offshore wind energy) is increasing its share of generation on the UK grid, but, in 2024, one-tenth of all generated wind energy was not utilised, and effectively wasted. The ASPIRE project aims to operate during periods of low electricity demand and high wind energy generation, producing ammonia with cheap renewable energy inputs (versus expensive gas feedstock). While starting at a smaller size, the plant is designed to scale all the way up to 200 MW, with the ability to turn down by a factor of twenty to 10 MW.

This government is working tirelessly to deliver homegrown, clean, secure power for the British people and technology like this showcases how British innovation can play a role in bringing down energy bills for good. We are delivering the biggest upgrade in Great Britain’s electricity network in decades right now, which will minimise constraint costs and meet the capacity needed to deliver clean power by 2030.

UK Energy Minister Michael Shanks, in the UK Research & Innovation’s official press release, 18 Dec 2025