Green Ammonia: The Future of Clean Fuel?

As the world places more and more importance on reducing carbon emissions, we desperately need alternatives to fossil fuels. One such fuel may turn out to be green ammonia and Japan especially is already exploring its potential in the energy sector.

There certainly seems to be some industry excitement about green ammonia, but what exactly is it and can we begin pinning our hopes on this ‘new’ fuel?

What is green ammonia?

Ammonia is a colourless gas compound of nitrogen and hydrogen. It has long been widely used as an agricultural fertiliser, but its production is far from eco-friendly.

The most common way of making ammonia is using the Haber-Bosch process, from methane, water and air. It requires high temperatures and pressures and the process is responsible for approximately 1.8% of global carbon dioxide emissions.

However, so called ‘green’ ammonia can be made by combining hydrogen (via water electrolysis) and nitrogen (separated from air) and the Haber-Bosch process. The important factor is that the energy required to create the necessary high temperatures and pressures is provided by sustainable electricity. In this process, no carbon dioxide is emitted.

The pros and cons of green ammonia as a fuel

Green ammonia can be used as a fuel but there are pros and cons:

Japan’s green ammonia powered turbines

As the world watches on, Japan is exploring the possibilities of green ammonia in power generation. With the goal to become carbon neutral by 2050, the Japanese power sector must be inventive when it comes to fuel sources. The topography of Japan, with its mountainous islands, means other renewable energies such as wind power are tricky to support. Could green ammonia be the answer?

IHI Corporation in Tokyo, Japan has developed a 2,000-kilowatt-class IM270 ammonia-fired turbine which runs on green ammonia and has been designed so that it doesn’t produce nitrous oxide. Could this be the first of many to follow?

At the moment, Japanese power plants are reliant on natural gas and coal, but IHI are assisting in the retrofit of hardware allowing co-combustion of these fuels with ammonia. The idea is for an eventual full switch to the latter, but this method supports a gradual transition.

It’s very possible we will see more green ammonia powered turbines in the future and it’s certainly an interesting direction for the industry to take.

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At Rochem we stay at the forefront of the developments in gas turbine technology. We have specialised in gas turbine compressor cleaning products for over 40 years and are dedicated to supporting our customers as the industry shifts to more eco-friendly production.

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