The Japanese government will provide financial support to the development of two ammonia import and supply hubs. Adjacent to its Hekinan power plant, JERA will lead development of a hub that will provide fuel ammonia for co-firing, plus distribution facilities for other industrial customers. In Hokkaido, IHI and Hokkaido Electric will develop a hub by 2030, with power generation and industrial customers in the area.
Amogy and Japan-based Hoku Infrastructure will identify opportunities to integrate Amogy’s ammonia-to-power technology in distributed power generation projects for data centers, industrial facilities, and other off-grid applications in Japan and Asia. Ammonia power solutions represent a potentially simpler pathway to low carbon facility operations compliant with local regulations, as demonstrated by GHD in a recent study.
The partners announced that 100% ammonia fuel combustion has been achieved during testing in Japan, matching “full-load conditions” for GE Vernova’s F-Class gas turbines.
Japan Bank for International Cooperation will lead a co-financed, billion dollar loan to JERA for investment in the Blue Point mega-project in the USA.
Mitsubishi Shipbuilding has shipped two critical marine fuel system elements to Japan Engine Corporation for integration with J-ENG’s two-stroke ammonia engine, which passed a rigorous testing regime late last year. The engines will power NYK’s ammonia-fueled medium gas carrier vessels, with the first scheduled to enter service later this year.
India has joined Japan, Korea and the EU in setting an emissions threshold for renewable ammonia certification. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy will issue methodologies for measurement, reporting, monitoring, on-site verification, and certification.
Kevin Rouwenhorst reports back from the 7th CFAA International Symposium in Tokyo, plus significant progress on the ground for Idemitsu Kosan, NYK Line, Resonac, and IHI Corporation.
The pair aim to complete an ammonia-fueled engine platform design capable of scaled production, while demonstrating that “an internal combustion engine can be run on liquid ammonia with minimal changes necessary”.
The 4 ton per day project will be fed by an adjacent alkaline electrolysis plant. Led by JGC and key chemicals manufacturer Asahi Kasei, lessons from the demonstrator will be applied to another large pilot for green chemical production planned for next year.
In our latest technology landscape analysis, AEA Technology Manager Kevin Rouwenhorst explores four broad categories for novel ammonia production technologies: improved catalysts, sorbent enhancement, electrochemical ammonia synthesis, and other technology pathways (including geological, single-step and looping synthesis).