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Article

Tsubame BHB Launches Joint Evaluation with Mitsubishi Chemical

Stephen H. Crolius December 17, 2020

Last month Tsubame BHB, a Japanese developer of ammonia synthesis technology, announced the signing of a “joint evaluation contract” with Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation (MCC) that will focus on a novel ammonia separation membrane. The company, which started operations in 2017, is working on a method of ammonia synthesis that could allow economic production at scales 1-2 orders of magnitude below today’s plants.

Article

A Fuel Standard for Ammonia: panel wrap-up from the Ammonia Energy Conference 2020

Julian Atchison December 15, 2020

What are the key considerations for a future Ammonia Fuel Standard? On November 17, 2020, the Ammonia Energy Association (AEA) hosted a panel discussion moderated by Ron Stanis from GTI (Gas Technology Institute), as well as panel members David Richardson from Airgas, Rob Steele from EPRI (Electric Power Research Institute), Eric Smith from IIAR (International Institute of Ammonia Refrigeration), and Dorthe Jacobsen from MAN Energy Solutions at the recent Ammonia Energy Conference. The AEA Fuel Standard Committee has been developing a draft product specification that will facilitate the acceptance of ammonia as a fuel. The overall message from panelists came through loud and clear: the draft standard is ready for stakeholder comments, and the Fuel Standard Committee welcomes your input.

Article

Full electrification: Yara plans 500,000 tons of green ammonia in Norway by 2026

Trevor Brown December 10, 2020

Green ammonia projects continue to be announced at dizzying speed and scale. A few weeks ago, Origin Energy disclosed its feasibility study to develop 500 MW (hydro) / 420,000 tons per year of green ammonia in Tasmania, with first production targeted for mid-2020s. This week, a consortium led by Haldor Topsoe and Vestas announced 10 MW (wind+solar) / 5,000 tons of green ammonia in Denmark, which could be operational in 2022, making it the first green ammonia plant at this scale. Also this week, Yara made a significant corporate announcement, detailing a “transformation of its commercial business models, sales channels and offerings,” with the full decarbonization of its Porsgrunn plant at the heart of its strategy to use green ammonia “to enable the hydrogen economy.”

Article

Green Ammonia at Oil and Gas Scale: Ammonia Energy Conference 2020 Keynote

Julian Atchison December 10, 2020

What does green ammonia look like at oil and gas scale? To open the Ammonia Energy Conference 2020 - and give us some insights into this question - we were thrilled to welcome Alex Tancock, Managing Director of InterContinental Energy (ICE). Since 2014 ICE has been in the business of identifying the new generation of “Green Supergiants”: green hydrogen and green ammonia fusion projects based on large-scale renewable energy. Alex was excited to pass on the key lessons learnt from the development of ICE’s first publicized project - the Asian Renewable Energy Hub (AREH) in north-western Australia.

Article

Techno-Economic Challenges of Green Ammonia as an Energy Vector

Stephen H. Crolius December 03, 2020

Techno-Economic Challenges of Green Ammonia as an Energy Vector, a new textbook, was issued in September by scientific and technical publisher Elsevier. The 340-page volume was written by Agustin Valera-Medina of Cardiff University and Rene Banares-Alcantara of Oxford University. The book is a valuable consolidation of knowledge across the many aspects of ammonia energy, and seems destined to become a go-to reference for current and future technologists, project developers, and policy makers.

Article

Panel discussion on next-generation ammonia synthesis

Kevin Rouwenhorst December 03, 2020

This year’s Ammonia Energy Conference included a panel discussion on next-generation ammonia synthesis, moderated by Sarb Giddey (CSIRO, Australia), and featuring panelists Doug MacFarlane (Monash University, Australia), Karthish Manthiram (MIT, United States), and Michael Stoukides (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece). The panel discussed the direct fixation of nitrogen in the form of ammonia from water and air in a single electrochemical device, which is considered the “holy grail” of ammonia synthesis. During the panel, the participants gave their perspectives on the state of the art, and the obstacles and opportunities for progress.

Article

NH3 Arab Events – A duo webinar on green ammonia

Rianne Vriend-Vrijenhoef November 19, 2020

NH3 Event Europe Foundation and the Arab Fertilizer Association (AFA) will join forces in NH3 Arab Events to host two digital events, on December 8 and 9, 2020, on the topic of green NH3 in the Arab world. Our aim of organizing these events is to build knowledge and share information about green ammonia possibilities in the Arab world.

Article

Fortescue Making Major Move into Green Energy

Stephen H. Crolius November 19, 2020

Last week the Sydney Morning Herald featured this headline: "Fortescue to take on fossil fuel giants with expansion into green energy." Bold words, but it turns out the headline does not overstate Fortescue’s ambitions for its new business, Fortescue Future Industries (FFI). “FFI will finance, develop and operate renewable energy projects including green hydrogen and green ammonia plants,” the accompanying story says, with the "aim to build 235 gigawatts of installed energy capacity.”

Article

The Cost of CO2-free Ammonia

Bunro Shiozawa November 12, 2020

If ammonia is to be introduced into the energy system as a CO2-free fuel, its cost must be at least competitive with that of other CO2-free fuels such as CO2-free hydrogen. In the discussion below I consider the cost aspect of CO2-free ammonia. To state my conclusion at the beginning, the cost of CO2-free ammonia can be less than 30 yen/Nm3-H2, which is the 2030 cost target for hydrogen energy set by the Japanese government in its "Basic Hydrogen Strategy” for introducing hydrogen energy into Japan.

Article

METI Forms Ammonia Energy Council

Stephen H. Crolius November 05, 2020

Last week, Japan’s Ministry of Energy, Trade, and Industry (METI) announced the formation of a council to work on the implementation of ammonia as an energy commodity. The announcement came on the same day as a speech by Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga in which he established 2050 as the date certain for Japan to achieve carbon-neutrality. That was Monday October 26, 2020. The council held its first meeting on Tuesday October 27. The Council consists of four entities from the public sector and ten from the private sector. Members include companies that have previously been identified with the development of ammonia energy systems, including EPC firm JGC, capital goods manufacturer IHI, electric utility JERA, and shipping company NYK Line. The membership also reflects what appears to be the group’s central mission: positioning Japan as ammonia energy’s global leader via the dissemination of technology and the development of supply chains.