At last month’s MariNH3 conference in Nottingham, a series of keynotes laid out the opportunities and challenges ahead for marine ammonia fuel. Onboard ammonia cracking technologies are moving through testing phases and closer to commercialisation, vessel designers are working through the unique challenges of carrying ammonia fuel onboard, and emissions mitigation technology (in combination with adherence to existing Tier 3 standards) will be necessary to ensure that ammonia-powered vessels are more environmentally-friendly than conventional counterparts.
AFC Energy, MAHLE, the University of Nottingham and Clean Air Power have been awarded funding from Innovate UK to demonstrate the feasibility of ammonia combustion engines in the marine sector, based on the integration of AFC Energy’s ammonia cracking technology. The new program builds on a prior R&D program exploring ammonia combustion engines for the off-road construction industry.
H2SITE successfully used its membrane-based ammonia cracking technology coupled with a PEM fuel cell to power auxiliary services onboard the BERTHA B as it sailed along the Gulf of Biscay. In the UK, AFC Energy will continue validation of a 140 kg-per-day demonstration plant, featuring its modular ammonia cracker technology.
Sunborne Systems ran a successful demonstration for its ammonia cracking reactor in Oxford, producing a fuel blend capable of powering a small vehicle or small generator unit. Also in the UK, AFC Energy announced a similarly successful demonstration of its integrated cracker and purifier system, producing hydrogen fuel which meets purity & ISO standards for heavy vehicle refueling.
In cracking technology updates this week:
The UK government will fund a new red diesel replacement project from engine developers MAHLE Powertrain and partners Clean Air Power and the University of Nottingham. The trio will demonstrate decarbonisation of heavy duty engines using ammonia and hydrogen fuel, or a blend of the two. Fortescue Future Industries and Liebherr are also involved in the decarbonisation of the UK construction sector, with agreements on hydrogen fuel supply & engine development signed last October. Fuel cells also enter this mix, with AFC Energy currently rolling out off-grid, ammonia-powered gensets on construction sites in London and Madrid.
Two updates from AFC Energy:
1. The “Power Tower”, a 10kW, ammonia-fueled, off-grid power was launched last month, with Keltbray and Acciona to deploy modular units on construction sites mid-year.
2. The launch of Extreme-H off road racing, with green methanol and ammonia likely to act as hydrogen carriers for the hydrogen-fueled racing championship.
AFC Energy has designed a developed a containerised, integrated, ammonia-fed propulsion system that will power the new "ZeroCoaster" vessel design. The ZeroCoaster consortium, led by Vard Engineering and including ABB, Trosvik Maritime, SINTEF Ocean and HK Shipping (plus support from the Norweigian government) is developing the next generation of coastal bulk cargo carriers. With the propulsion system design in place, DNV GL granted commercial Approval in Principle to the ZeroCoaster design this week, allowing the consortium to begin discussions with potential buyers.
AFC Energy, the British fuel cell company, announced this week that it will demonstrate its H-Power fuel cell platform in collaboration with Spanish construction firm Acciona Construcción. In an interview with the “financial media portal” Proactive Investors, AFC’s Chief Executive Officer Adam Bond suggested that the collaboration could open the door for the company’s products as temporary power solutions at construction sites, saying “it does present us with some interesting and large opportunities.”
AFC Energy PLC, the British fuel cell company, announced on May 20 the successful conclusion of “ammonia to power (‘A2P’) fuel cell generator trials.” The result is “proof of concept” for a system consisting of an "off the shelf" ammonia cracker and a proprietary alkaline fuel cell that can readily utilize hydrogen with residual quantities of uncracked ammonia. The achievement positions AFC “to conclude work on the business case and engineering of an integrated, scalable ammonia fuelled clean power generator.”
In the last 12 months ... IHI Corporation tested its 1 kW ammonia-fueled solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) in Japan; Project Alkammonia concluded its work on cracked-ammonia-fed alkaline fuel cells (AFC) in the EU; the University of Delaware's project for low-temperature direct ammonia fuel cells (DAFC) continues with funding from the US Department of Energy's ARPA-E; and, in Israel, GenCell launched its commercial 4 kW ammonia-fed AFC with field demonstrations at up to 800 locations across Kenya.
GenCell Energy, the Israeli fuel cell manufacturer, has made two major announcements in the last month. In June, it unveiled its ammonia-fueled alkaline fuel cell system. In July, it announced its first commercial customer. Its A5 Off-Grid Power Solution is a "nano power plant that operates fully independent of the grid." The first phase of product trials, using ammonia as a fuel to provide uninterruptible power to cell phone masts, will begin in Kenya by the end of this year, and "product roll-out" is expected in the second half of 2019.
Following last year’s field trials of Diverse Energy’s PowerCube technology in Africa (and AFC Energy’s subsequent acquisition of assets from Diverse), an EU-funded project to commercialize ammonia-fed fuel cells for stationary power generation continues to gather momentum under the title “Project Alkammonia".