Jera

Ammonia energy giants JERA and Lotte will develop a low-carbon ammonia value chain between Japan and Korea, working alongside the governments of both countries.

JERA and IHI have successfully concluded a large-scale ammonia co-firing trial at the Hekinan power station. For two months, 20% fuel substitution in the 1 GW-sized Unit 4 was achieved, with stable operations throughout. JERA aims to have commercial ammonia co-firing operations up and running by March 2025.

Navigator sees its ship-to-ship ammonia transfer in South Africa as a milestone that will help unlock ammonia as a maritime bunker fuel. In Japan, JERA will begin truck-to-ship bunkering of ammonia fuel in late May, servicing NYK Line’s A-Tug vessel.

With installation and testing of ammonia fuel equipment now complete, a 20% ammonia co-firing demonstration will proceed from April to June this year at the Hekinan power plant. JERA and IHI aim for commercial operations to begin around March 2025. JERA is also exploring part ownership and offtake from Exxon Mobil’s CCS ammonia mega-project in Baytown, Texas.

EnBW, VNG and Jera will jointly conduct a feasibility study to evaluate the construction of an ammonia cracker demonstration plant at the Port of Rostock. The port joins a list of European ports where large-scale ammonia cracking is being considered, or a demonstration plant has already been announced: Antwerp, Rotterdam, Wilhelmshaven, Liverpool and Immingham amongst others.

JERA has signed MoUs this week with two significant ammonia producers, potentially securing the supply of one million tonnes of clean ammonia fuel to Japan each year from 2027. JERA has signed exploratory agreements for 500,000 tonnes of clean ammonia fuel each with CF Industries and Yara Clean Ammonia, and will also explore investment options in greenfield mega-projects on the US Gulf Coast.

Joint venture SK Plug Hyverse has agreed to deploy its Korean-manufactured PEM electrolysers overseas, and then supply Korea South-East Power (KOEN) with renewable hydrogen & ammonia imports for co-firing at natural gas and coal power plants. In Malaysia, power utility Tenaga Nasional Bhd, IHI Power Systems and Petronas announced they have successfully conducted 60% ammonia co-combustion trials. And in Singapore, Jurong Port, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and JERA will conduct a joint study on Jurong Island, where a 60MW, combined-cycle gas turbine will be fueled by 100% ammonia to produce zero-carbon electricity.

Japanese government funding via NEDO will support four critical ammonia energy projects, including JERA's new plan to demonstrate 50% ammonia-coal co-firing by 2030. Other projects include improved catalysts for ammonia production, low-temperature and low-pressure synthesis pathways, and developing 100% ammonia-fed boilers and gas turbines. In addition, a new cooperation agreement between ASEAN countries will see Japan support other members to adopt their ammonia energy solutions, particularly coal co-firing.

Mitsubishi Power has announced the development of single and mixed-fuel ammonia combustion boilers for industrial applications. Importantly, Mitsubishi also announced that optimal combustion conditions for ammonia have been successfully identified to minimise NOx formation and ammonia slip.

Welcome to the Ammonia Wrap: a summary of all the latest announcements, news items and publications about ammonia energy. This week: two new large-scale ammonia projects in the UAE, RWE, BASF combine for 2 GW "Offshore-to-X" project, green ammonia exports from Tasmania, coal co-combustion trials in Japan, Japanese shipping industry chases decarbonisation, South Korean companies join together in local green ammonia consortium, new funding for ammonia-from-wastewater research and Horisont Energi and Equinor join forces for the Polaris project.

This month, the Japanese Ministry for Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI) began promoting an updated Road Map for Fuel Ammonia, focused on the use of ammonia in thermal power plants and as a shipping fuel. By 2030, Japan expects to import 3 million tons of clean ammonia, with demand rising to 30 million tons by 2050. To secure these volumes, Japanese companies are now making investments up and down the supply chain. These are ambitious numbers, matching Japan’s recent commitment to reach net-zero emissions, but still they miss the big picture. The broader economic opportunity arrives when Japanese companies export their fuel ammonia technologies, decarbonizing coal-fired power plants across Asia, and then supply the fuel to these newly sustainable shipping and electricity sectors. By 2050, the METI Road Map expects Japanese trading companies to supply the wider region with 100 million tons per year of clean ammonia.

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.

In March 2020, IHI Corporation, JERA Co., and Marubeni Corporation announced a feasibility study "to evaluate possible applications for the co-firing of ammonia in thermal power plants." The Japanese companies have contracted with NEDO to deliver detailed technical and economic analysis on the use of ammonia as a direct fuel for power generation. In addition, with support from Woodside Energy in Australia, they "will examine the construction and operation of world-scale ammonia facilities and the optimisation of supply chain costs" to support "large-scale export of hydrogen as ammonia."