The Korea Institute of Energy Research has successfully demonstrated an upgraded version of its ammonia cracking system. The new system eliminates the use of LNG or LPG as reaction heat source and introduces a single-step process for hydrogen separation from the tail gas.
Two big players, Johnson Matthey and thyssenkrupp Uhde, will combine their CCS-based hydrogen and ammonia synthesis technologies to offer a new “blue” ammonia solution, enabling production with up to 99% CO2 capture.
From near-zero volumes today, JERA has set its sights on being a “pioneer player” in the emerging global value chain for ammonia, handling 7 million tons every year by 2035. JERA is also aiming for 100% substitution of ammonia fuel in ultra-supercritical power stations in the 2040s, and to maintain currently low levels of NOX and SOX emissions from its power generating fleet.
Hydrom, Oman’s dedicated government development vehicle for low-carbon hydrogen, has awarded land to two projects. Actis and Fortescue will develop about 4.5 GW of wind and solar energy to power the production of more than 1 million ton tons of ammonia per year. With the same wind and solar energy capacity, EDF, J-Power and Yamna will develop a similarly-sized, 1 million ton per-year ammonia plant.
H2Carrier intends to develop two wind farms in far northern Norway with a combined capacity of 1.55 GW, which will power offshore hydrogen and ammonia production.
Nel will supply over 1 GW of alkaline electrolysers for Hy Stor Energy’s hydrogen production and storage hub project in Mississippi, USA. In other electrolyser news, Cepsa and Allied Green Ammonia have picked technology providers for their under-development projects in Spain and Australia.
Incentivised by the US government’s Inflation Reduction Act, Topsoe plans to build a 1 GW solid oxide electrolysis cell manufacturing plant in Virginia. Combined with its existing SOEC factory in Herning, Denmark, the new factory will make Topsoe the largest SOEC manufacturer globally.
Eastern Pacific Shipping’s on-order very large ammonia carriers (VLACs) will be registered in Singapore, thanks to a new partnership with the Maritime and Port Authority. Trafigura has announced the first of its ammonia-fueled, medium gas carriers will be delivered from South Korea in 2027. In Japan, K LINE and MAN are leading a 5-party collaboration to develop ammonia fueled-engines and deploy them in 200,000 dwt bulk carriers. We also explore ammonia-fueled Aframaxes in Malaysia, a concept study for a large-volume, coastal ammonia carrier in Japan, and a new salmon fishing vessel design in Norway.
Amogy’s ammonia-to-electrical power system will be used to charge Terox’s electric construction vehicles, thanks to a new commercial partnership in Norway. It will also be deployed onboard Hanwa Ocean’s ammonia-fueled supply vessels.
The joint venture between Fortescue and OCP will supply hydrogen, ammonia and fertiliser to the Moroccan market and beyond. Meanwhile in Australia, Fortescue’s recently opened electrolyser production facility will produce 2 GW of PEM electrolysers per year.