Site items in: Transportation Fuel

Bunker Ammonia: carbon-free liquid fuel for ships
Article

Bunker Ammonia: carbon-free liquid fuel for ships

Trevor Brown March 23, 2017

The shipping industry is beginning to evaluate ammonia as a potential "bunker fuel," a carbon-free alternative to the heavy fuel oil (HFO) used in maritime transport. International trade associations are leading the effort to decarbonize the sector, in alignment with targets set by the Paris Climate Agreement. Their immediate challenge is simple to state but hard to solve: "ambitious CO2 reduction objectives will only be achievable with alternative marine fuels which do not yet exist." In the long-term, however researchers recognize that "fuel cell-powered ships are likely to dominate, drawing their energy from fuels such as hydrogen and ammonia."

Hydrogen Fueling Station Development in Japan
Article

Hydrogen Fueling Station Development in Japan

Stephen H. Crolius February 03, 2017

Two announcements – focused on very different approaches for supplying hydrogen as a transportation fuel – shine a light on Japan’s approach to creating a national hydrogen energy economy. On January 24, the American company Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. issued a press release about the launch of the Shikaoi Hydrogen Farm fueling station in Hokkaido, Japan. The station will be supplied by hydrogen derived from agricultural wastes via anaerobic digestion and Air Products’ biogas purification and steam methane reforming (SMR) technologies. The project was undertaken by a consortium that includes the Japanese companies Nippon Steel and Sumikin Pipeline & Engineering, Air Water, Inc., and Kajima Corporation. Six months earlier, on July 19, 2016, the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) announced that another consortium – this one led by Hiroshima University and including Showa Denko, Taiyo Nichi Company, and Toyota Industries – had succeeded in developing “viable technology to produce high-purity hydrogen [from an] ammonia hydrogen station.”

REFUEL Ammonia Use-Side Funding Awards
Article

REFUEL Ammonia Use-Side Funding Awards

Stephen H. Crolius December 23, 2016

Six of the projects designated for funding by the ARPA-E REFUEL announcement on December 15 involve technologies on the use side of the ammonia energy space. Three focus on generating hydrogen from ammonia. Two focus on fuel cells that convert ammonia to electricity. One project involves both ammonia synthesis and use.

NH3 Fuel Association President Presents at AIChE Annual Meeting
Article

NH3 Fuel Association President Presents at AIChE Annual Meeting

Stephen H. Crolius November 30, 2016

NH3 Fuel Association President Norm Olson presented his paper “NH3 – the Optimal Liquid Transportation Fuel” on November 9 at the annual meeting of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE). The AIChE meeting, held over six days in San Francisco, provided a wide-ranging perspective on the sustainable energy landscape that ammonia energy must compete within.

Sturman Industries' Dual-Fuel Ammonia Engine
Article

Sturman Industries' Dual-Fuel Ammonia Engine

Stephen H. Crolius October 21, 2016

Eddie Sturman, noted inventor and co-founder of Sturman Industries, has been developing ammonia internal-combustion-engine (ICE) technology for several years – "at least six, maybe more." At the 2016 NH3 Fuel Conference, he provided the most in-depth look so far at the results of Sturman Industries' R&D program. Specifically, his talk featured a dual-fuel compression ignition engine powered by a combination of diesel fuel and ammonia.

A Roadmap for Ammonia Fuel in Fujian Province
Article

A Roadmap for Ammonia Fuel in Fujian Province

Trevor Brown October 13, 2016

Researchers from Fujian Province presented their work at the 2016 NH3 Fuel Conference, and introduced the far-reaching plans of the Ammonia Fuel Synergy group at the College of Energy, Xiamen University, in China. Forest (Zhaolin) Wang's presentation, Ammonia as a Key to Meeting the Fuel Demand of China, contained valuable insight into the potential of ammonia fuel in China, and outlined the group's roadmaps for developing an ammonia-natural gas dual fueled car by 2018, and an ammonia-methanol dual fuel car by 2020.

Introducing the Global NH3 Fuel Federation
Presentation

Introducing the Global NH3 Fuel Federation

Stephen H. Crolius

Until recently, ammonia fuel was the focus of a few dozen individuals working in isolated groups. Institutional interest and support were limited at best. Now we are in a new stage: ammonia fuel is being investigated seriously in publicly and privately supported programs in most of the world’s leading economies. The NH3 Fuel Association has been engaged in informal conversations over the last year about how to respond to this very significant trend. The conclusion is that it is time to launch an initiative that can engender a higher level of mutual awareness, communication, and support across all of the…

Key Life Cycle Assessment Numbers for NH3, Green and Brown Energy
Presentation

Key Life Cycle Assessment Numbers for NH3, Green and Brown Energy

Yusuf BicerIbrahim DincerCalin ZamfirescuGreg VezinaFrank Raso

This talk will present the results of two recent studies. In the first study, four different ammonia production methods are comparatively evaluated using life cycle assessment (LCA). The proposed ammonia production systems consist of an electrolyzer for hydrogen production and a Haber-Bosch plant for ammonia synthesis. The required energy for the systems are utilized from various resources namely hydropower, nuclear, biomass and municipal waste. Life cycle assessment methodology is used to identify and quantify environmental impacts in global warming potential, human toxicity and abiotic depletion categories of each method during the life cycle of the systems. The proposed non-conventional ammonia…

Ammonia as a Key to Meeting the Fuel Demand of China
Presentation

Ammonia as a Key to Meeting the Fuel Demand of China

Zhaolin (Forest) Wang

Currently, China is facing a challenge of increasing its energy consumption and simultaneously decreasing its emissions. Particularly, the desire of owning a car is so strong in China that it cannot be easily mitigated by high pricing or taxing. This paper presents the statistical results of fuel consumption in China and predicts the fuel demand in near future, it then compares the fuel demand of China with the fuel production scale of the world. It is concluded that China must utilize clean alternative fuels to meet the fast increasing demand for automotive fuels. The price, distribution infrastructure, and thermodynamic properties…