Ammonia-to-Power to decarbonize heavy industries
The pair will develop an 850,000 tonnes per year renewable ammonia production facility in Queensland, Australia. The ammonia will be used domestically by IPL, exported to Singapore for use in Keppel’s under-development power generation projects, or sold to customers in Asia for energy needs. The source of the renewable hydrogen feedstock will be the nearby Central Queensland hydrogen mega-project. In other news, H2U will collaborate with the local first nations community on its own mega-project in the area: H2-Hub™ Gladstone.
While the opportunity for Australia to become a world-leading exporter of green molecules is well-established, State of Hydrogen 2022 suggests the best progress to date has been made on a domestic opportunity: decarbonisation of existing ammonia production within Australia. Government support for emerging hydrogen hubs, workforce training and regulatory updates are highlighted as key next steps.
Through this partnership, Keppel and Exxon Mobil look to leverage their experience to deliver low or zero-carbon hydrogen and ammonia solutions to support Singapore’s quest to decarbonise its power sector.
Although a globally significant ammonia producer, India still relies on ammonia & fertilizer imports to support its agricultural sector. In our recent episode of Ammonia Project Features, we explored the potential of domestically-produced renewable ammonia to both replace these imports and position India as an ammonia energy giant. Excellent solar PV resources, plentiful government support and access to “round-the-clock” renewables were all highlighted as key drivers for India to meet its renewable ammonia potential.
Peak industry body Hydrogen Europe has released a new report on the potential of clean ammonia production & utilisation in Europe. Although the introduction of renewable hydrogen feedstock presents an obvious opportunity to decarbonise the ammonia industry in Europe, the potential downstream applications of ammonia energy are being neglected by policymakers - particularly power generation and maritime fuel.
ADNOC, Currenta GmbH and the North Rhine-Westphalia state government will cooperate on the production, transportation to Germany and subsequent application of low-carbon ammonia fuel. Industrial-scale testing of ammonia fuel for power generation will take place at one of Currenta’s chemical manufacturing sites in the region.
Mitsui OSK Lines, Mitsubishi, Chiyoda and the Electricity Generation Authority of Thailand will work together to build a clean hydrogen & ammonia value chain, with production based on renewable energy generation in southern Thailand. The MoU was signed on the sidelines of the official launch of the Asian Zero Emissions Community: a new region-wide initiative to drive the energy transition in Asia.
Exxon Mobil is planning a CCS hydrogen & ammonia production facility at its existing complex in Baytown, Texas, with operations to begin in 2027-8. This week, Korea-based SK Inc. Materials announced they would act as off taker for the CCS ammonia, which will be imported to Korea for use in coal co-combustion.