Fossil Energy Companies Turn to Ammonia
By Trevor Brown on November 09, 2018
In the last 12 months …
National oil companies in Europe and the Middle East are looking to satisfy East Asian demand for clean hydrogen by exporting carbon-free ammonia. One of the biggest global LNG exporters is investigating ammonia for the same market, as it considers Australia’s future as a renewable energy exporter. Oil majors are assessing ammonia’s role in implementing an affordable hydrogen economy, looking toward fuel markets in California and Europe. And the biggest coal producer in China is funding the development of “the world’s first practical ammonia-powered vehicle.”
Equinor (formerly Statoil), Saudi Aramco, Woodside Petroleum, Shenhua Group, Shell, and Total are all now invested in demonstrating or developing new technologies or business cases for ammonia energy in a low-carbon economy. Some of these low-carbon projects rely upon carbon capture technology, either for enhanced oil recovery or pure geologic sequestration. Others are truly renewable, based on large-scale deployment of renewable generating assets and electrolyzers.
Our articles this year on fossil energy companies present only their publicly announced projects, not the larger sum of activity directed toward understanding and exploiting the potential for ammonia energy. But, as the scale of market demand increases sharply over the next decade, these big companies will have an increasingly important and visible role in delivering ammonia energy.
Ammonia Energy reporting on this topic since last year
- September 2018: This Week in Hydrogen
- September 2018: ITM Power, Sumitomo Enter Strategic Partnership
- June 2018: Battolyser Attracts Grant Funding, Corporate Support
- May 2018: Australia’s Woodside Petroleum Considers Ammonia as a Hydrogen Carrier
- February 2018: Japan, Saudi Arabia Explore Trade in Hydrogen, Ammonia
- January 2018: Green ammonia demonstration plant in The Netherlands
- October 2017: China and Australia collaborate on ammonia as a clean transport fuel
A year in review
To mark the second anniversary of Ammonia Energy, we are reviewing the most important stories from the last 12 months. This “top ten” list spans two areas: five are significant advances that build on activities that were already underway in 2017, and five are new developments that emerged decisively this year.
Significant advances:
- Ammonia as a Grid-Supporting Energy Storage Solution
- Ammonia as a Hydrogen Carrier for Hydrogen Fuel Cells
- Maritime Industry Targets Ammonia Fuel to Decarbonize Shipping
- Ammonia as a Direct Fuel for Alkaline and Solid Oxide Fuel Cells
- Great Strides in NH3 Commitment and Progress in Australia
New developments:
- Green Ammonia Plants, Commercially Available Today
- Ammonia Is Taken Up by Wide-Circulation Media
- Targets, Limits, Pledges, Bans: Enforcing the Transition to Sustainable Energy
- Affiliated NH3 Groups Become a Force for Advocacy
- Fossil Energy Companies Turn to Ammonia