The Australian Renewable Energy Agency has conditionally awarded AU$432 million in hydrogen production credits to support the operation of the Hunter Valley Hydrogen Hub. Located adjacent to Orica’s existing ammonia production facility on Kooragang Island, the grid-powered, 50 MW electrolysis plant will displace around 7.5% of gas feedstock consumed daily.
In the latest episode of Project Features, Foshan Xianhu Laboratory and Monalisa Group explored a recent demonstration of ammonia combustion for industrial fabrication of ceramic tiles in China. Retrofits of the gas-powered production lines, safe, low-emission ammonia combustion, a multi-level DeNOX approach, target markets, and future ammonia fuel demand potential in China were discussed.
Long-awaited guidelines for tax credits for the production of “clean” hydrogen in the USA have been released, which include “significant changes” and additional flexibility compared to the first draft.
A first in the Brazilian market, Yara has commenced the production of biomethane-based nitrate fertilisers at its Cubatão complex, reducing the carbon footprint by up to 75%. The first batch of the low carbon fertiliser has been delivered to coffee farmers in the Cooxupe cooperative.
In this Technology Insights article, we explore the different technology options for low-emission ammonia production from gas feedstock. What are the different energy, carbon capture, scale and maturity trade-offs that need to be considered? What technology choices are project developers currently making?
BASF has successfully delivered its first shipment of BMBcertTM grade ammonia to Evonik. Produced via a “biomass balanced approach”, the ammonia will be used by Evonik to manufacture a range of products, including resins, paints, shoe soles, and gas pipes.
Air Liquide will invest up to $850 million to build, own and operate four large air separation units as part of ExxonMobil’s low-carbon hydrogen project in Baytown, Texas. The units will provide nitrogen and oxygen feedstocks to ExxonMobil, which will be used to produce low-carbon hydrogen and ammonia.
ISCC PLUS-certified renewable ammonia from Fertiglobe will be used in a low-carbon laundry powder demonstration project by Unilever in India. In Germany, bio-ammonia produced by OCI Global (also ISCC PLUS-certified) will be used to produce methylmethacrylate, a key feedstock in PLEXIGLAS® production. The two announcements join a number of supply chains which have now incorporated low-carbon and renewable ammonia.
This session of our 2023 annual conference explored the need for high quality data as an input to ammonia certification. The panel featured Jennifer Beach (Starfire Energy), Lara Owens (MiQ), Jim Seely (Authentix), Selim Sevikel (Global CCS Institute), and Rajiv Sabharwal (Bureau Veritas).
This issue is a key focus for the AEA, as our under-development ammonia certification system will require auditable data from a host of stakeholders – including gas and electricity suppliers, CO2 offtakers, and others – in order to calculate a true and trustworthy carbon footprint.