Ammonia: zero-carbon fertiliser, fuel and energy store

Ammonia:

zero-carbon fertiliser,

fuel and energy store

POLICY BRIEFING

Ammonia: zero-carbon fertiliser,

fuel and energy store

Issued: February 2020 DES5711

ISBN: 978-1-78252-448-9

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This report can be viewed online at:

royalsociety.org/green-ammonia

Policy briefing

Politics and science frequently move on vastly

different timescales. A policymaker seeking

evidence on a new policy will often need the

answer in weeks or months, while it takes

years to design and undertake the research to

rigorously address a new policy question. The

value of an extended investigation into a topic

cannot be understated, but when this is not

possible good evidence is better than none.

The Royal Society’s series of policy briefings

is a new mechanism aiming to bridge that

divide. Drawing on the expertise of Fellows

of the Royal Society and the wider scientific

community, these policy briefings provide

rapid and authoritative syntheses of current

evidence. These briefings lay out the current

state of knowledge and the questions that

remain to be answered around a policy

question often defined alongside a partner.

CONTE NTS

Contents

Executive summary 4

Introduction 6

Current ammonia storage and transport infrastructure 8

Ammonia: health and environmental considerations 10

1. The decarbonisation of ammonia production 12

1.1 Current ammonia production process – brown ammonia 12

1.2 Blue ammonia production – using blue hydrogen from steam methane

reforming (SMR) with carbon capture and storage (CCS) 14

1.3 Green ammonia production – using green hydrogen from water electrolysis 14

1.3.1 Research opportunities 16

1.4 Novel methods for green ammonia synthesis 19

2. New zero-carbon uses for green ammonia 21

2.1 The storage and transportation of sustainable energy 22

2.2 Ammonia for the transportation and provision of hydrogen 26

2.3 Technological opportunities for ammonia as a transport fuel 28

2.4 The use of ammonia in heating and cooling 32

2.5 Energy conversion efficiency 32

3. International perspectives: activities and future opportunities 34

3.1 Japan 34

3.2 Australia 35

3.3 China 35

Conclusions 36

Annex A: Deﬁnitions 37

Annex B: Acknowledgements 38

AMMONIA: ZEROCARBON FERTILISER, FUEL AND ENERGY STORE 3

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Executive summary

Future zero-carbon energy scenarios are

predicated on wind and solar energy taking

prominent roles. Matching demand-driven

energy provision with low-carbon energy

security, from these intermittent sources,

requires long-term sustainable energy storage.

This briefing considers the opportunities and

challenges associated with the manufacture

and future use of zero-carbon ammonia, which

is referred to in this report as green ammonia.

The production of green ammonia has the

capability to impact the transition towards

zero-carbon through the decarbonisation of

its current major use in fertiliser production.

Perhaps as significantly, it has the following

potential uses:

• As a medium to store and transport

chemical energy, with the energy being

released either by directly reacting with air

or by the full or partial decomposition of

ammonia to release hydrogen.

• As a transport fuel, by direct combustion in

an engine or through chemical reaction with

oxygen in the air in a fuel cell to produce

electricity to power a motor.

• To store thermal energy through the

absorption of water and through phase

changes between material states (for

example liquid to gas).

With its relatively high energy density of

around 3 kWh/litre and existing global

transportation and storage infrastructure,

ammonia could form the basis of a new,

integrated worldwide renewable energy

storage and distribution solution. These

features suggest ammonia could readily be

a competitive option for transporting zero-

carbon energy by road, rail, ship or pipeline.

Ammonia has been used as a fertiliser for

over a century and has been of fundamental

importance in providing sufficient food to feed

our planet. Current ammonia manufacture

is predominantly achieved through steam

reforming of methane to produce hydrogen

which is fed into ammonia synthesis via the

Haber Bosch process. Ammonia production

currently accounts for around 1.8% of global

carbon dioxide emissions.

Decarbonisation options mainly target the

production of hydrogen either by integrating

carbon capture and storage or through the

production of hydrogen via water electrolysis

using sustainable electricity.

Ammonia use does present challenges.

Human alteration of the global nitrogen cycle,

mainly through the application of ammonia-

based fertilisers, is a contributor to global

declines in biodiversity, widespread air quality

problems and greenhouse gas emissions

across the world. New uses of ammonia, in

the storage, transportation and utilisation

of renewable energy, must therefore be

decoupled from environmental impact, with

particular emphasis on avoiding and effectively

eliminating emissions of nitrogen oxides and

ammonia release.

Finding affordable and effective solutions to

all these challenges, demonstrating technical

feasibility, developing the appropriate

regulations and implementing safety

procedures will be vital to open up more

flexible routes on a global scale towards a

low-carbon energy future.

Over the coming decades, ammonia has the

potential to make a significant impact through

enabling the transition away from our global

dependence on fossil fuels and contributing,

in substantial part, to the reduction of

greenhouse gas emissions.

The production of

green ammonia

has the capability

to impact the

transition towards

zero-carbon.

4 AMMONIA: ZEROCARBON FERTILISER, FUEL AND ENERGY STORE

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

FIGURE 1

Water Air

Electrolysis

Separation

Sustainable

electricity

HABER-

BOSCH

PROCESS

Sustainable

electricity

Hydrogen

Nitrogen

EXISTING USES

Fertilisers

Refrigeration

Explosives

Textiles and

pharmaceuticals

EXPANDED USES

(after cracking)

in PEM fuel cell

Using

alkaline

fuel cell

Direct

combustion

engine/turbine

Energy store to electricity generation

Transport fuel

Phase change/absorption

bulk thermal storage

Heat transfer

Ammonia

Green ammonia production and use.

Direct

combustion

engine/turbine

Directly in

solid oxide

fuel cell

(after cracking)

in PEM fuel cell

AMMONIA: ZEROCARBON FERTILISER, FUEL AND ENERGY STORE 5

INTRODUCTION

Introduction

Ammonia has had a profound global impact

since the discovery of its synthesis from

hydrogen and nitrogen by Haber and Bosch in

Germany at the beginning of the 20th century.

The key role of ammonia today is as the basic

feedstock for inorganic fertilisers that currently

support food production for around half of the

world’s population

Ammonia is an efficient refrigerant that has

been used extensively since the 1930s in

industrial cold stores, food processing industry

applications and increasingly in large-scale

air-conditioning. Ammonia is also the key

component in the production of AdBlue for

vehicle NO

control, and in the pharmaceutical,

textile and explosives industries.

Current global ammonia production is about 176

million tonnes per year and is predominantly

achieved through the steam reforming of

methane to produce hydrogen to feed into

ammonia synthesis via the Haber Bosch process

(see Chapter 1). Ammonia production is a highly

energy intensive process consuming around

1.8% of global energy output each year (steam

methane reforming accounts for over 80% of the

energy required) and producing as a result about

500 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (about 1.8%

of global carbon dioxide emissions)

2,3,4

. Ammonia

synthesis is significantly the largest carbon

dioxide emitting chemical industry process

(Figure 2). Along with cement, steel and ethylene

production, it is one of the ‘big four’ industrial

processes where a decarbonisation plan must

be developed and implemented to meet the net-

zero carbon emissions target by 2050

1. Smil V. 2000 Enriching the Earth. ISBN 9780262194495.

2. Institute for Industrial Productivity. Industrial Eciency Technology Database – Ammonia.

3. International Fertiliser Industry Association. 2009 Fertilisers, Climate Change and Enhancing Agricultural

Productivity Sustainably. See https://www.fertilizer.org/Public/Stewardship/Publication_Detail.

aspx?SEQN=4910&PUBKEY=0E80C30A-A407-49D2-86B5-0BAC566D3B26 (accessed 29 May 2019).

4. IEA, ICCA, DECHEMA. 2013 Technology Roadmap – Energy and GHG Reductions in the Chemical Industry

via Catalytic Processes.

5. McKinsey & Company. 2018 Decarbonization of Industrial Sectors: the next Frontier. See https://www.mckinsey.com/~/

media/mckinsey/business%20functions/sustainability/our%20insights/how%20industry%20can%20move%20toward%20

a%20low%20carbon%20future/decarbonization-of-industrial-sectors-the-next-frontier.ashx (accessed 29 May 2019).

Greenhouse gas emissions for selected high production volume chemicals for 2010

FIGURE 2

BTX – Benzene, Toluene, Xylene (aromatic chemicals). These 2010 numbers are the most recent published ﬁgures.

Note: Ammonia production in 2018 was 176Mt and generated around 500 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (per annum).

Production volume (Mt)

Annual GHG emissions (Mt CO

-eq)

Acrylonitrile

Styrene

Methanol

Propylene

Ethylene

Ammonia

BTX

100

150

200

250

300

350

140100804020 60 120

160

Current ammonia

production

generates 500

million tonnes of

carbon dioxide.

6 AMMONIA: ZEROCARBON FERTILISER, FUEL AND ENERGY STORE

INTRODUCTION

In addition to its established uses, ammonia

can be applied as a flexible long-term energy

carrier and zero-carbon fuel. In common with

fossil fuels, ammonia is both a chemical energy

store and a fuel, where energy is released by

the breaking and making of chemical bonds.

For ammonia (NH

), the net energy gain arises

from breaking nitrogen-hydrogen bonds which,

together with oxygen, produces nitrogen and

water. Importantly, this means that if sustainable

energy is used to power the production of green

ammonia, it can be made sustainably using only

air (which is around 78% nitrogen) and water.

The energy storage properties of ammonia

are fundamentally similar to those of methane.

Methane has four carbon-hydrogen bonds

thatcan be broken to release energy and

ammonia has three nitrogen-hydrogen bonds

that can be broken to release energy (Figure 3).

The crucial difference is the central atom,

where, when burnt, the carbon atom in

methane produces carbon dioxide, whereas

the nitrogen atom in ammonia results in

nitrogen gas, N

At room temperature and atmospheric pressure,

ammonia is a colourless, pungent gas. To

store in bulk, it requires liquefaction either by

compression to 10 times atmospheric pressure or

chilling to -33°C. In this state, the energy density

of ammonia is about 3 kWh/litre which is less

than but comparable with fossil fuels (Figure 4).

Hydrogen by comparison is also a gas at

atmospheric pressure and room temperature.

However to store hydrogen at scale it must

be compressed to around 350 to 700 times

atmospheric pressure, or cryogenically cooled

to -253°C. Consequently, the storage of

hydrogen is more difficult, energy intensive

and expensive than storing ammonia.

The volumetric energy density of a range of fuel options.

FIGURE 4

KEY

Carbon-based fuels

Zero-carbon fuels

Diesel

Petrol (octane)

Liquefied Petroleum Gas

Ethanol

Liquefied Natural Gas

Methanol

Ammonia (liquid, -35°C)

Ammonia (liquid, 25°C)

Hydrogen (liquid)

Hydrogen (700bar)

Hydrogen (350bar)

Li-battery (NMC)

0 1 2 3 4 5

Energy density (kWh/l)

6 7 8 9 10

Structure of methane and ammonia.

Methane CH

H HC

H HN

Ammonia NH

FIGURE 3

AMMONIA: ZEROCARBON FERTILISER, FUEL AND ENERGY STORE 7

INTRODUCTION

Ammonia shipping infrastructure, including a heat map of liquid ammonia carriers and existing

ammonia port facilities (2017).

FIGURE 5

Current ammonia storage and transport

infrastructure

There is a high level of maturity in many

aspects of ammonia storage and transport

infrastructure because of its widespread

use as a feedstock for inorganic fertilisers.

Indeed, an established worldwide ammonia

infrastructure already exists with significant

ammonia maritime trading. International

shipping routes are well-established and

there is a comprehensive network of ports

worldwide that handle ammonia at large

scale (Figure 5). This existing port and

shipping infrastructure could enable the

early accelerated adoption of large-scale

transportation of ammonia as an energy

vectorand fuel.

The largest refrigerated ammonia storage

facilities are often located at ports where

ammonia is produced and then shipped

internationally. As an indication of scale, the

Qatar Fertiliser Company ammonia production

facility has two 50,000 tonne refrigerated

ammonia storage tanks which have a

combined footprint of around 160m by 90m

(around 1.5 hectares)

6. McDermott. QAFCO Ammonia Storage Tanks – Snamprogetti. See www.mcdermott.com/What-We-Do/Project-Proﬁles/

QAFCO-Ammonia-Storage-Tanks (accessed 10 June 2019).

KEY

Ammonia loading facilities Ammonia unloading port facilities

8 AMMONIA: ZEROCARBON FERTILISER, FUEL AND ENERGY STORE

INTRODUCTION

In the UK, ammonia is used to make nitrate

fertilisers which are applied to the soil, while

in the United States of America, ammonia

is mainly applied directly into the soil.

Consequently, the USA has over 10,000

ammonia storage sites, predominately located

in the Mid-West (Figure 6); though there is a

significant presence of ammonia facilities in

cities such as Los Angeles (storage capacity

of 150,000 tonnes in Port of Los Angeles). The

highest densities are in Iowa with over 1,000

facilities and a total storage capacity of around

800,000 tonnes. Transportation is not only by

road, train and river but also by pipeline; 3,000

miles of 6 – 8-inch carbon steel pipes connect

11 states with regularly spaced pumping

stations, transporting around 2 million tonnes

of ammonia per year

Liquefied ammonia storage and pipeline distribution networks in the US Mid-West

. The Kaneb

(orange line) and Magellan Midstream (red line) ammonia pipelines are respectively 2,000 miles

and 1,100 miles long.

FIGURE 6

7. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Facility Registry Service https://www.epa.gov/frs (accessed 05 June 2019).

8. Papavinasam S. 2014 Corrosion control in the Oil and Gas Industry. Gulf Professional Publishing, 2, 41 – 131.

(doi: 10.1016/B978-0-12-397022-0.00002-9).

Note: The Magellan Midstream pipeline will be decommissioned in 2020.

Circle areas are indicative of ammonia tonnage. The largest circles correspond to 100,000 tonne facilities.

AMMONIA: ZEROCARBON FERTILISER, FUEL AND ENERGY STORE 9

INTRODUCTION

Ammonia: health and environmental

considerations

In considering expanded roles for ammonia in

energy storage, the health risks from ammonia

exposure and the environmental risks arising

from leaks must be closely scrutinised and all

systems must be designed to minimise, and

effectively eliminate, these risks. Ammonia is

corrosive and potentially toxic. Its high vapour

pressure under standard conditions enhances

the risks associated with these hazards.

However, ammonia is readily detectable

by smell at concentrations substantially

below levels that cause any lasting health

consequences.

From an environmental perspective, ammonia

represents a chronic hazard to terrestrial

ecosystems as well as providing an increasing

burden to air pollution. Human activity

has greatly modified the very important

biogeochemical global cycle. The global

industrial synthesis of ammonia along with

combustion sources of nitrogen compounds

are similar in magnitude to the natural global

fixation of atmospheric nitrogen by microbes

insoils and in the oceans (Figure 7).

Agricultural fertilisers account for 80% of

annual ammonia production but only 17% of

that nitrogen is consumed by humans in crops,

dairy and meat products

. The remainder

leaches into the soil, air and water causing

widespread biodiversity losses, eutrophication,

and air quality issues from particulate

matter, emissions of greenhouse gases and

stratospheric ozone loss

Once ammonia has been applied to soils

either from fertilisers or deposited from the

atmosphere, it is transformed, by microbes and

depending on soil conditions, to a range of

other compounds including nitric oxide, nitrous

oxide, and molecular nitrogen.

Although ammonia is itself not a greenhouse

gas, following deposition to soil it may be

converted to nitrous oxide, an important

contributor to radiative forcing of climate. It also

has a substantial indirect impact on climate

through its role in particulate matter. One of

the most significant measures to improve the

resulting air pollution in the UK, and more widely

in Europe, is to minimise agricultural ammonia

emissions, through decreasing deposition

. It

is therefore important and essential that any

new applications of ammonia include effective

measures to prevent any additional emissions.

In contrast to fertilisers, nitrogen release from

energy storage applications of ammonia should

be as nitrogen gas only. Stringent controls,

which are already present at all ammonia

storage and relevant industrial sites, must be

in place for ensuring that the risks of ammonia

release and NO

formation are negligible.

9. Leach AM et al. 2012 A nitrogen footprint model to help consumers understand their role in nitrogen losses to the

environment. Environ. Dev. 1, 40-66. (doi: 10.1016/j.envdev.2011.12.005).

10. Erisman JW et al. 2013 Consequences of human modiﬁcation of the global nitrogen cycle. Philosophical Transactions

of The Royal Society B, 368, 20130116. (doi: 10.1098/rstb2013.0116).

11. Vieno M et al. 2016 The sensitivities of emissions reductions for the mitigation of UK PM2.5. Atmos. Chem.Phys.,16,

265-276. (doi:10.5194/acp-16-265-2016).

It is essential that

new applications

of ammonia prevent

any additional

emissions.

10 AMMONIA: ZEROCARBON FERTILISER, FUEL AND ENERGY STORE

INTRODUCTION

The global fixation of atmospheric nitrogen to reactive forms (ammonia, nitric oxide and nitrogen

dioxide). The orange arrows represent natural processes, mainly Biological Nitrogen Fixation

(BNF), the purple arrows represent anthropogenic sources

FIGURE 7

Biological

Nitrogen

Fixation

Lightning

Combustion

Fertiliser

production

Agricultural

Biological

Nitrogen

Fixation

Biological

Nitrogen

Fixation

58 Mt ± 50%

120 Mt ± 10%

60 Mt ± 30%

140 Mt ± 20%

5 Mt ± 50%

30 Mt ± 10%

OceanLand

Total nitrogen ﬁxation = 413 Mt NH

/year

Total anthropogenic nitrogen ﬁxation = 210 Mt NH

/year

12. Fowler D et al. 2013 The global nitrogen cycle in the twenty-ﬁrst century. Philosophical Transactions of The Royal

Society B, 368, 20130164. (doi: 10.1098/rstb.2013.0164).

AMMONIA: ZEROCARBON FERTILISER, FUEL AND ENERGY STORE 11

CHAPTER ONE

The decarbonisation

of ammonia production

In this briefing the various methods of

producing ammonia are differentiated using

the following terms:

Brown ammonia

Higher carbon ammonia made using a fossil

fuel as the feedstock

Blue ammonia

Low-carbon ammonia: brown ammonia but

with carbon capture and storage technology

applied to the manufacturing processes.

Green ammonia

Zero-carbon ammonia, made using sustainable

electricity, water and air.

The ammonia produced is the same, it is the

carbon emissions from the processes that

aredifferent

1.1 Current ammonia production process –

brown ammonia

Current commercial ammonia production is

predominately based around the Haber-Bosch

process (Figure 8). This reaction involves the

catalytic reaction of hydrogen and nitrogen at

high temperature and pressure.

Overall, brown ammonia production is energy

intensive, consuming 8 MWh of energy per

tonne of ammonia. However, most of the energy

consumption and around 90% of the carbon

emissions are from the production of hydrogen.

Hydrogen is generated almost exclusively via

steam reformation of fossil fuels. Most ammonia

plants rely on the steam reformation of natural

gas to produce hydrogen and carbon dioxide

(Figure 9). Coal, heavy fuel oil and naphtha can

also be used but have higher carbon dioxide

emissions (between 2.5 and 3.8 tonnes CO

tonne ammonia compared to 1.6 tonnes CO

tonne ammonia for natural gas

). The nitrogen

is obtained from compressed air or an air

separation unit.

13. International Fertiliser Industry Association. 2009 Fertilisers, Climate Change and Enhancing Agricultural

Productivity Sustainably. See https://www.fertilizer.org/Public/Stewardship/Publication_Detail.

aspx?SEQN=4910&PUBKEY=0E80C30A-A407-49D2-86B5-0BAC566D3B26 (accessed 29 May 2019).

14. Brightling J. 2018 Ammonia and the Fertiliser Industry: The Development of Ammonia at Billingham. Johnson Matthey

Technol. Rev., 62, 32. (doi: 10.1595/205651318x696341).

Schematic of the Haber Bosch ammonia synthesis reaction.

FIGURE 8

Ammonia

Nitrogen

Hydrogen

CATALYST

150 – 300 bar

350 – 500 °C

Hydrogen

accounts for

around 90%

of the carbon

emissions in

the synthesis

ofammonia.

12 AMMONIA: ZEROCARBON FERTILISER, FUEL AND ENERGY STORE

CHAPTER ONE

Reducing the amount of carbon dioxide

produced during the manufacturing process

is dependent primarily on the source of

hydrogen, using low-carbon energy for the

process and system integration to produce the

most efficient overall process.

The recent Royal Society Policy Briefing

Options for producing low-carbon hydrogen at

scale

and the Committee for Climate Change

report Hydrogen in a low-carbon economy

discuss future scenarios for low-carbon

hydrogen production.

Both reports note that the most likely

optionsare:

• Blue hydrogen

Steam methane reforming with carbon

capture and storage (CCS).

• Green hydrogen

Electrolysis of water, to generate hydrogen

and oxygen in a process driven by

sustainable energy.

15. The Royal Society. 2018 Options for producing low-carbon hydrogen at scale: Policy Brieﬁng. See https://royalsociety.

org/-/media/policy/projects/hydrogen-production/energy-brieﬁng-green-hydrogen.pdf (accessed 17 April 2019).

16. Committee on Climate Change, 2018 Hydrogen in a low-carbon economy. See https://www.theccc.org.uk/wp-content/

uploads/2018/11/Hydrogen-in-a-low-carbon-economy.pdf (accessed 29 May 2019).

Schematic of hydrogen production via steam methane reformation.

Desulfurisation

FIGURE 9

Hydrogen

Carbon

dioxide

Hydrogen

Natural

gas

Carbon

dioxide

removal

Primary

reformation

Secondary

reformation

Shift

reaction

Final

puriﬁcation

AMMONIA: ZEROCARBON FERTILISER, FUEL AND ENERGY STORE 13

CHAPTER ONE

1.2 Blue ammonia production – using blue

hydrogen from steam methane reforming

(SMR) with carbon capture and storage (CCS)

While natural gas prices and carbon taxes

remain low, steam methane reforming with

carbon capture and storage is likely to be

the lowest cost option for reducing the

carbon footprint of ammonia production

(CCSis estimated to add £0.40/kgH

)

. Steam

methane reforming emits carbon dioxide in

a concentrated form that is well-suited for

carbon capture and storage. However, the

incorporation of carbon capture technologies

into the steam methane reforming process

has been modelled and shows an increase in

natural gas consumption and a consequent

increase in the operating cost of hydrogen

production relative to the existing process

While up to 90% of carbon dioxide could

be captured, the upstream greenhouse gas

emissions associated with natural gas extraction,

limit the life-cycle emission reductions for

combined steam methane reforming and

carbon capture and storage to 60 – 85%

This degree of carbon emission reduction is

impressive but, for net-zero carbon hydrogen

production, current projections suggest that

this process can only be part of a transition to

a zero-carbon solution. This becomes highly

relevant if there is a substantial increase

in hydrogen and ammonia production

associatedwith sustainable energy storage.

1.3 Green ammonia production – using green

hydrogen from water electrolysis

In this process, hydrogen is produced through

the electrolysis of water, which is a well-

established process (Figure 10)

. Nitrogen

is obtained directly from air using an air

separation unit which accounts for 2 – 3%

of the process energy used. Ammonia is

produced using the Haber-Bosch process

The main challenges are cost, of which about

85% is electricity, which in most parts of the

world is still significantly more expensive than

natural gas. The International Energy Agency

estimate that electrolysis is cost competitive

with steam methane reforming with carbon

capture at electricity prices between 1.5 to

5.0 USD cents/kWh (1.2 to 4.0 GBP pence/

kWh); and with steam methane without carbon

capture at 1 to 4 USD cents/kWh (0.8 to 3.1 GBP

pence/kWh; assuming gas prices 3 to 10 USD

cents/MMBtu (2.3 to 7.7 GBP pence/MMBtu))

17. International Energy Agency. 2019 The Future of Hydrogen. See https://www.iea.org/hydrogen2019/

(accessed 29 May 2019).

18. International Energy Agency Greenhouse Gas R&D Programme. 2017 Techno-Economic Evaluation of SMR Based

Standalone (Merchant) Hydrogen Plant with CCS. See https://ieaghg.org/exco_docs/2017-02.pdf

(accessed 23 May 2019).

19. Committee on Climate Change, 2018 Hydrogen in a low-carbon economy. See https://www.theccc.org.uk/wp-content/

uploads/2018/11/Hydrogen-in-a-low-carbon-economy.pdf (accessed 29 May 2019).

20. The Royal Society. 2018 Options for producing low-carbon hydrogen at scale: Policy Brieﬁng.

See https://royalsociety.org/-/media/policy/projects/hydrogen-production/energy-brieﬁng-green-hydrogen.pdf

(accessed 17 April 2019).

21. International Energy Agency. 2019 The Future of Hydrogen. See https://www.iea.org/hydrogen2019/

(accessed 29 May 2019).

14 AMMONIA: ZEROCARBON FERTILISER, FUEL AND ENERGY STORE

CHAPTER ONE

Schematic of green ammonia production based upon hydrogen production from water

electrolysis and the full decarbonisation of the Haber-Bosch process.

FIGURE 10

Water

Air

Electrolysis

Separation

Sustainable

electricity

HABER-

BOSCH

PROCESS

Ammonia

Sustainable

electricity

Hydrogen

Nitrogen

22. Kruger K, Eberhard A, Swartz K. 2018. Renewable Energy Auctions: A Global Overview. See http://www.gsb.uct.ac.za/

ﬁles/EEG_GlobalAuctionsReport.pdf (accessed 17 April 2019).

23. International Renewable Energy Agency. 2017 Levelised costs of electricity (LCOE) 2010-2017. See www.irena.org/

Statistics/View-Data-by-Topic/Costs/LCOE-2010-2017 (accessed 23 May 2019).

24. Ash N, Scarbrough T. 2019 Sailing on Solar: Could green ammonia decarbonise international shipping? Environmental

Defense Fund. See https://europe.edf.org/ﬁle/399/download?token=agUEbKeQ (accessed 23 May 2019).

The cost of electricity in areas with abundant

renewable potential has decreased

dramatically over the past decade. Auction

prices of 4.5, 3.2 and 2.3 USD cents/kWh

(3.4, 2.5 and 1.7 GBP pence/kWh) for utility-

scale solar installations in Morocco, Chile and

Saudi Arabia respectively, indicate that water

electrolysis may already be cost competitive

with steam methane reforming with carbon

capture and storage in areas with optimal

renewable energy conditions

22,23

. Taking

advantage of such low electricity costs also

requires transporting hydrogen affordably on

a massive scale. Ammonia, with its existing

high degree of technological readiness, is

positioned to play a key role in this supply

chain

. The production of green ammonia

viaelectrolysis is operating at TRLs 5 – 9.

AMMONIA: ZEROCARBON FERTILISER, FUEL AND ENERGY STORE 15

CHAPTER ONE

Figure 11 shows that the lowest current costs

of green ammonia production are already

competitive with blue ammonia. However, the

Figure also reflects how the present costs

of ammonia production vary widely across

different regions due to variations in fuel and

feedstock costs. This is especially evident

for production via electrolysis where the

cost of electricity is a major factor; the lowest

electrolysis costs are from locations where

renewable electricity costs are the lowest,

which, globally, is solar, from areas of high

global horizontal irradiance and onshore wind.

In 2019, the UK strike price for future offshore

wind dropped toaround 4.0 GBP pence/kWh

(5.2 USD cents/kWh).

1.3.1 Research opportunities

Demonstration projects for large-scale

green ammonia production are likely to be

electrolysis-based and sited in areas with

abundant renewable electricity, such as

North-Western Australia (see Chapter 3).

The development of new small-scale plant

designs which couple electrolysis with

ammonia production (see Case study 1) are

also under development. The opportunity to

combine smaller scale ammonia production

with remote renewable generation is attractive,

if lower capital costs can be realised. To

enable ammonia to be produced at this scale,

adaptation will be required to operate at a

sub-megawatt scale. The downscaling of the

Haber-Bosch process to small (30 – 500kW)

intermittent and variable renewable energy

supplies introduces two principal challenges:

• potential degradation of catalyst

performance and reduction of catalyst

lifetime from changes to Haber Bosch

reactor temperature and pressure because

of intermittent operation,

• minimisation of the inevitable efficiency loss

in moving to smaller scale and non-steady

state operation.

There are several recent demonstrations

of ammonia production by a downscaled

Haber-Bosch process integrated with water

electrolysis: one such trial is in operation at the

Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in Oxfordshire

(see Case study 1). A similar 20kg ammonia per

day demonstrator in Fukushima, Japan, which

is also powered by wind, has been designed to

test the cycle stability of different catalysts

Energy supply intermittency may be

circumvented by consuming small amounts

of ammonia product to maintain constant

temperature and pressure when required.

Such small-scale distributed ammonia

production could be used locally (eg

generated on a farm and used on the land)

or collected and transported by tanker to a

regional energy store.

25. Cross-ministerial Strategic Innovation Promotion Program. 2018 Press Release – World’s ﬁrst successful ammonia

synthesis using renewable energy-based hydrogen and power generation. See www.jgc.com/en/news/assets/

pdf/20181019e.pdf (accessed 10 June 2019).

16 AMMONIA: ZEROCARBON FERTILISER, FUEL AND ENERGY STORE

CHAPTER ONE

Cost comparison of ammonia production via different methods

FIGURE 11

Note: Range refers to the range of total levelised costs across regions, the lower end of the range is disaggregated into cost

categories. Electrolysis is assumed to be powered by 100% renewable electricity; the ‘feedstock cost’ is the electricity for the

electrolyser, and ‘fuel cost’ is additional electricity for the air separation unit, synthesis loop etc. CCUS costs include capture,

transport and storage of carbon dioxide; process CCUS is only process emissions; total is process and energy related

emissions. % carbon dioxide reduction is relative to unabated production with natural gas (1.6 tonnes/tonne NH

1,200

Natural Gas

unabated

Natural Gas

with concentrated

process CCUS

Natural Gas

with concentrated

total CCUS

Electrolysis

no direct emissions

Brown Ammonia Blue Ammonia Blue Ammonia Green Ammonia

Levelised costs (£/t ammonia)

emissions (tonnes/tonne NH

)

0 0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1.2

1.4

1.6

1.8

200

400

600

800

1,000

1,400

1,600

1,800

2,000

KEY

CCUS costs Feedstock Fuel OPEX CAPEX CO

emissions Cost range

26. International Energy Agency. The Future of Hydrogen, June 2019 https://webstore.iea.org/the-future-of-hydrogen

(accessed Oct 2019)

AMMONIA: ZEROCARBON FERTILISER, FUEL AND ENERGY STORE 17

CHAPTER ONE

Downscaling Haber-Bosch

A team comprised of Siemens plc, Cardiff University, the University of Oxford and the

Science & Technology Facilities Council (STFC), have developed a green ammonia

energy demonstration system at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Oxfordshire

Thisdemonstrator is designed to show feasibility and round trip efficiency through in-situ

synthesis, storage and combustion of green ammonia. An on-site wind turbine generates

the electricity to power both water electrolysis and the Haber-Bosch process. This system

produces around 30kg/day of ammonia which is stored in a pressurised tank and a 30kW

sparkignition electric generator uses this ammonia to feed electricity back into the grid.

CASE STUDY 1

Image

Green ammonia

demonstration system,

Rutherford Appleton

Laboratory, Oxfordshire.

27. The Chemical Engineer. Green ammonia project set for launch in UK today. See https://www.thechemicalengineer.

com/news/green-ammonia-project-set-for-launch-in-uk-today/ (accessed 29 May 2019).

18 AMMONIA: ZEROCARBON FERTILISER, FUEL AND ENERGY STORE

CHAPTER ONE

While these demonstration projects indicate

the relative technological readiness of green

ammonia production, there are substantial

opportunities for improvements in efficiency

andcost reductions. As such, research efforts

will play an important role in shaping the future

of green ammonia production technologies.

Some key goals include:

• Developing more active Haber Bosch

catalysts will facilitate operation under

milderconditions and reduce energy

demand, making the process more

amenableto variable and smaller-scale

operation and improving its compatibility

with renewable electricity. Reductions in

the operating pressure to levels where

expensivecompressors are not required

would be a valuable advance. This research

and development ranges from TRLs 1 – 4.

• Ammonia separation methods: sequestering

ammonia as it is produced by the use of

ammonia absorption materials may facilitate

lower-pressure operation and higher

ammonia yields in Haber-Bosch units.

Research, development and demonstration

are at TRLs 1 – 5.

1.4 Novel methods for green ammonia

synthesis

In addition to the Haber-Bosch process,

there are other recognised methods of green

ammonia production. All are still operating at

abasic research stage:

1. Ammonia is produced naturally by bacteria

that contain an enzyme catalyst called

nitrogenase, which operates at room

temperature and pressure to synthesise

ammonia from water and nitrogen.

Althoughbiological nitrogen fixation

is a perfect source of green ammonia,

further research and development would

be required before large-scale industrial

production could be considered. This

processis currently at TRL 1.

2. Electrochemical production is a technology for

producing green ammonia directly from water

and nitrogen using electricity. Importantly there

is no separate hydrogen production process

step. This process would be ideal for distributed

(small-scale) generation and more amenable

to intermittent power supplies (see Case

study 2). However, to date, only low rates of

ammonia production have been demonstrated

in laboratory studies. New electrocatalysts,

electrolytes and systems must be developed

that can produce ammonia in preference to

hydrogen and achieve competitive production

rates

28,29

. This process is currently at TRLs 1 – 2.

3. Chemical looping processes involve a series

of chemical/electrochemical reactions which

produce ammonia as a by-product, but where

the core reaction chemicals are recycled

and are not lost

30,31,32

. These processes

may be attractive for intermittent operation.

Importantly, some of these cycles avoid the

need for a separate hydrogen production

process by reacting with water directly. This

process is operating at TRLs 1 – 4.

28. Giddey S, Badwal SPS, Kulkarni A. 2013 Review of electrochemical ammonia production technologies and materials.

International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 38, 14576–14594. (doi: 10.1016/j.ijhydene.2013.09.054).

29. Kyriakou V et al. 2017 Progress in the Electrochemical Synthesis of Ammonia. Catalysis Today, 286, 2–13. (doi:

10.1016/j.cattod.2016.06.1014).

30. McEnaney JM et al. 2017 Ammonia synthesis for N2 and H2O using a lithium cycling electriﬁcation strategy at

atmospheric pressure. Energy & Environmental Science,10, 1621–1630 (doi: 10.1039/C7EE01126A).

31. Gao W et al. 2018 Production of Ammonia via a Chemical Looping Process Based on Metal Imides as Nitrogen

Carriers. Nature Energy, 3, 1067–1075 (doi: 10.1038/s41560-018-0268-z).

32. Hargreaves JSJ. 2014 Nitrides as ammonia synthesis catalysts and as potential nitrogen transfer reagents. Applied

Petrochemical Research, 4, 3–10 (doi: 10.1007/s13203-014-0049-y).

There are other

recognised

methods of

green ammonia

production.

AMMONIA: ZEROCARBON FERTILISER, FUEL AND ENERGY STORE 19

CHAPTER ONE

Process development – Solid Oxide Electrolysis Cell (SOEC)

Haldor Topsoe are developing a demonstrator that integrates a solid oxide electrolysis cell

(SOEC) to produce ammonia synthesis gas (H

= 3:1). This is then converted to ammonia

via the conventional Haber-Bosch process (Figure 12). The process operates at high

temperatures and can separate oxygen from air without using an air separation unit (ASU).

This results in an expected energy consumption per tonne of ammonia that is 5 – 10% lower

than a conventional SMR-based process and even less than a SMR-based process with

carbon capture and storage.

The waste heat is used to increase the overall efficiency to over 70% of the lower heating

value (LHV) of ammonia. The high overall efficiency and lower investment costs (ASUs are

expensive at small scale) improve the economics of small-scale ammonia production.

Haldor Topsoe recently announced the commencement of the SOC4NH3 project (Solid

Oxide Cell based production and use of ammonia), which will feature a 50kW demonstration

plant using this new technology combination, with the aim of commercial availability in 2030.

CASE STUDY 2

Process flow diagram of ammonia synthesis using a Solid Oxide Electrolysis Cell (SOEC)

toproduce both hydrogen and nitrogen for the Haber Bosch process.

FIGURE 12

Water

Air

Oxygen

HABER-

BOSCH

SYNTHESIS

Ammonia

SOEC

Steam

Hydrogen

Nitrogen

Sustainable

electricity

20 AMMONIA: ZEROCARBON FERTILISER, FUEL AND ENERGY STORE

CHAPTER TWO

EXPANDED USES

EXISTING USES

New zero-carbon uses for

green ammonia

In addition to decarbonising the existing

uses of ammonia, the development of green

ammonia production also generates the

following additional uses (Figure 13):

• Ammonia can be used as a medium to

store and transport chemical energy, with

the energy being released either directly

(see Chapter 2.1) or by the full or partial

decomposition of ammonia to release

hydrogen (see Chapter 2.2). The hydrogen or

ammonia-hydrogen mixture is then reacted

with oxygen in the air to release energy.

• Ammonia can be used as a transport fuel

by direct combustion in an engine or by

chemical reaction with oxygen in a fuel cell

to produce electricity to power a motor

(seeChapter 2.3).

• Ammonia can also be used to store

thermalenergy through for example liquid

to gas phase changes, solid to solid phase

transformations and absorption with, for

example, water (see Chapter 2.4).

Schematic of existing and expanded end uses of ammonia.

FIGURE 13

PEM – Proton Exchange Membrane.

Fertilisers

Refrigeration

Explosives

Textiles and

pharmaceuticals

Ammonia

Direct

combustion

engine/turbine

Directly in

solid oxide

fuel cell

(after cracking)

in PEM fuel cell

Transport fuel

Phase change/absorption

bulk thermal storage

Heat transfer

Ammonia can

be used as a

medium to store

and transport

chemical energy.

Energy store to electricity generation

(after cracking)

in PEM fuel cell

Using

alkaline

fuel cell

Direct

combustion

engine/turbine

AMMONIA: ZEROCARBON FERTILISER, FUEL AND ENERGY STORE 21

CHAPTER TWO

2.1 The storage and transportation of

sustainable energy

The energy flow in a zero-carbon economy

begins with the generation of primary

electricity from sustainable energy sources.

Once generated, this energy must either be

used immediately or stored. There are several

ways of storing and recovering zero-carbon

energy that include:

• electrochemical storage in batteries,

• physical storage in, for example, pumped

hydroelectricity and compressed gases,

• chemical storage in the form of zero-carbon

electrofuels, such as hydrogen or ammonia

Each zero-carbon storage option has its

relative merits in terms of flexibility, efficiency,

energy density, cost, scale and longevity.

While it is always preferable to keep energy

transitions to a minimum (see Chapter 2.5),

additional considerations such as the energy

and financial costs of storage and transport

must also be considered. For example,

it mightbe preferable to store and use

hydrogenlocally rather than convert it to

ammonia if local, low-cost, large-scale gas

storage (eg in salt caverns) is available.

Ammonia, with its relatively high energy

density and existing global transportation

and storage infrastructure, could offer a new,

integrated worldwide sustainable energy

storage and distribution solution (see, for

example, Case study 3)

. The relative ease

of storing liquid ammonia either compressed

or refrigerated, particularly compared with

compressed or liquefied hydrogen, makes

ammonia a competitive option for storing zero-

carbon energy and transporting it by pipeline,

road, rail or ship (Figure 14 and Figure 15).

33. Thyssenkrupp – WattshiftR. 2018 WattshiftR concept – oshore energy & ammonia production.

22 AMMONIA: ZEROCARBON FERTILISER, FUEL AND ENERGY STORE

CHAPTER TWO

Estimated costs for transport of hydrogen and ammonia by lorry, rail and ship

FIGURE 14

KEY

Ammonia Liquid hydrogen 350 bar hydrogen

Shipping

Rail

Lorry

0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1

Cost (£/tonne km)

1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8

34. ACIL Allen Consulting. 2018 Opportunities for Australia from Hydrogen Exports. See https://www.acilallen.com.au/

projects/energy/opportunities-for-australia-from-hydrogen-exports (accessed 23 May 2019).

AMMONIA: ZEROCARBON FERTILISER, FUEL AND ENERGY STORE 23

CHAPTER TWO

200 800 1,400

Cost (£/kgH

)

2,000 2,600

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1.2

1.4

1.6

1.8

Cost estimates for transport of energy as hydrogen or ammonia by ship and pipeline

FIGURE 15

Hydrogen (pipeline)

Hydrogen (ship)

Ammonia (pipeline)

Ammonia (ship)

Several recent studies have concluded that

ammonia is the lowest-cost method and

the most technologically-ready option for

transporting energy over long distances

(Figure 15). The cost of converting hydrogen

to ammonia is around £0.80/kgH

, so for

example, the total cost of transporting ammonia

1,400km by pipeline is £1.20/kgH

. The cost of

transporting hydrogen by pipeline increases

faster than ammonia, so from around 2,500km

the costs are both around £1.50/kgH

(including

the conversion cost); beyond this distance,

ammonia is cheaper.

The direct use of ammonia, for example,

in a direct ammonia solid oxide fuel cell or

internal combustion engine, brings significant

increases in both energy efficiency and

reduced energy costs. There are 4,830km

ofammonia pipelines in the United States and

in Eastern Europe, the Tolyatti-Odessa pipeline

(2400km) transports ammonia from Russia to

chemical and fertiliser plants

Storage cost estimates are expected to be

comparable with, for example, the storage of

hydrogen in salt caverns, but with the added

advantages of flexibility of scale, location and

onward transportation. The cost of refrigerated

ammonia storage tanks varies depending

upon the size, site and the facilities available,

with estimates for a 10,000 tonne standalone

storage tank costing between £20 – 40million.

The UK has a developed understanding of the

safe handling and storage of ammonia which

should permit the appropriate infrastructure to

be developed.

35. International Energy Agency. The Future of Hydrogen, June 2019 https://webstore.iea.org/the-future-of-hydrogen

(accessed 24 October 2019).

36. International Energy Agency. The Future of Hydrogen, June 2019 https://webstore.iea.org/the-future-of-hydrogen

(accessed 24 October 2019).

Note: Hydrogen transported via pipeline is gaseous and liqueﬁed for shipping. Costs include both the transport and storage

required; not the conversion, distribution or reconversion.

24 AMMONIA: ZEROCARBON FERTILISER, FUEL AND ENERGY STORE

CHAPTER TWO

37. Wind Europe. 2019 Oshore Wind in Europe. See windeurope.org/wp-content/uploads/ﬁles/about-wind/statistics/

WindEurope-Annual-Oshore-Statistics-2018.pdf (accessed 23 May 2019).

38. TenneT. North Sea Wind Power Hub. See www.tennet.eu/our-key-tasks/innovations/north-sea-wind-power-hub/

(accessed 23 May 2019).

39. Jepma CJ, van Schot M. 2017 On the economics of oshore energy conversion: smart combinations. Energy Delta Institute.

40. Meier K. 2014 Hydrogen production with sea water electrolysis using Norwegian oshore wind energy potentials.

International Journal of Energy and Environmental Engineering, 5, 104 (doi: 10.1007/s40095-014-0104-6).

41. Thyssenkrupp – WattshiftR. 2018 WattshiftR concept – oshore energy & ammonia production.

42. Oil & Gas Authority. 2019 Cost Estimate Report: UKCS Decommissioning. See https://www.ogauthority.co.uk/

media/5906/decommissioning-estimate-cost-report-2019.pdf (accessed 26 November 2019).

Storing and transporting renewable energy

The dramatic reductions in electricity costs

from both onshore and offshore wind farms

are advantageous for North Western Europe,

and in particular for the UK. The North Sea

accounts for 70% of all offshore wind capacity

in Europe

and by 2040, offshore wind

turbines in the North Sea are expected to

generate 70 – 150GW of electricity; around

20% of the EU’s electricity demand

. Utilising

renewable electricity to produce ammonia will

enable more flexible options for renewable

energy in the energy economy.

The Energy Delta Institute and the Energy

Research Centre of the Netherlands

completed a feasibility study of

offshore green hydrogen production on

decommissioned oil/gas platforms in the

North Sea linked to offshore wind farms

Hydrogen would be transported onshore

via existing gas pipelines (after mixing with

natural gas) or by building new hydrogen

pipelines. They assessed all costs associated

including energy conversion, storage and

transport. Using various assumptions for the

output and input variables and based on

market data at the time, the green hydrogen

prices ranged between €1.56 – 4.67/kgH

(£1.33 – 3.98/kgH

). Electrolyser capacity was

also assessed for different sized platforms.

Offshore array cables to connect the wind

farms to the platforms cost around €465

(£396) (800m

array cable) to €180 (£153)

(240mm

array cable) per metre (installation

costs of €200/metre (£170/metre)). Optimal

transport modes of the hydrogen between

the platforms and shore were dependent

on the required distance. This study

involved afresh water infeed for electrolysis,

howeverother studies are considering

seawater electrolysis

ThyssenKrupp have extended this concept

to explore the production of ammonia as

both an energy store or hydrogen carrier

To note, there are currently over 600

offshore oil and gas installations in the

North Sea (470 in UK waters). A large

proportion have now exceeded or are

approaching end of designed lifespan

and will be decommissioned in line with

regulation. Recent estimates from the Oil

& Gas Authority show the total cost of

decommissioning remaining UK offshore

oil and gas production, transportation and

infrastructure are £51 billion

CASE STUDY 3

Image

North Sea oil platform

AMMONIA: ZEROCARBON FERTILISER, FUEL AND ENERGY STORE 25

CHAPTER TWO

2.2 Ammonia for the transportation and

provision of hydrogen

The safe, effective, economical and regulated

storage of hydrogen for use as a fuel in

road transport is an important technological

challenge in the move towards a low-carbon

economy. When liquefied, ammonia contains

50% more hydrogen by volume than liquid

hydrogen. These properties, along with ease

of storage and transportation, make ammonia

an attractive candidate for consideration

for the storage and delivery of hydrogen

for hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, with its high

hydrogen content of 17.8wt%.

Ammonia can be straightforwardly decomposed

or ‘cracked’ into nitrogen and hydrogen gases

(Figure 16). The optimal catalytic decomposition

of ammonia is critical. It can be achieved at high

temperatures above 700°C using inexpensive

materials such as iron. Lower temperature

decomposition reduces energy costs but

currently involves the use of rare-metal catalysts

such as ruthenium. Further cost reductions and

optimisation of catalyst and reaction processes

will be required to ensure that energy losses

from the ammonia decomposition reaction are

close to the theoretical minimum value of about

7% of the stored energy of ammonia. Active

research and innovation programmes, including

in the UK, show significant promise with new

inexpensive catalyst families, based on amide

(-NH

) and imide (-NH) materials, that operate at

450 – 500°C

43,44

. This is currently at TRLs 2 – 4.

43. David WIF et al. 2014 Hydrogen Production from Ammonia Using Sodium Amide. J Am Chem Soc,136, 13082–13085.

(doi:10.1021/ja5042836).

44. Makepeace JW, Wood TJ, Hunter HMA, Jones MO, David WIF. 2015 Ammonia decomposition catalysis using non-

stoichiometric lithium imide. Chem Sci, 6, 3805–3815. (doi:10.1039/C5SC00205B).

Ammonia

contains 50%

more hydrogen

by volume than

liquid hydrogen.

26 AMMONIA: ZEROCARBON FERTILISER, FUEL AND ENERGY STORE

CHAPTER TWO

Hydrogen

CATALYST

Its high hydrogen content and established

storage and transportation options make

ammonia an attractive source of hydrogen. The

hydrogen generated from the decomposition

of ammonia can be used to generate electricity,

typically today using proton exchange

membrane (PEM) fuel cells. PEM fuel cells can

be used to power vehicles and also for static

isolated and grid electricity generation.

They are, however, sensitive to very low levels

(<1ppm) of ammonia in the hydrogen gas

stream; for both environmental and process

reasons, the ammonia limits must be kept

below 1ppm. Post-cracking purification is

therefore a critical technical step for obtaining

a usable hydrogen stream. Several approaches

are being developed to purify the hydrogen

stream produced from ammonia decomposition

before its use in a PEM fuel cell, including

membranes

and absorption-based systems

Cracking ammonia to hydrogen to be used in a Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) Fuel Cell.

FIGURE 16

Ammonia

PURIFICATION

PEM

fuel cell

+trace ammonia

Hydrogen

Nitrogen

45. Lamb KE et al. 2018 High-Purity H2 Produced from NH3 via a Ruthenium-Based Decomposition Catalyst and

Vanadium-Based Membrane. Ind. Eng. Chem. Res, 57, 8–13. (doi: 10.1021/acs.iecr.8b01476).

46. van Hassel BA et al. 2015 Ammonia sorbent development for on-board H2 puriﬁcation. Separation and Puriﬁcation

Technology, 142, 215-226. (doi: 10.1016/j.seppur.2014.12.009).

AMMONIA: ZEROCARBON FERTILISER, FUEL AND ENERGY STORE 27

CHAPTER TWO

2.3 Technological opportunities for ammonia

as a transport fuel

There are several power technologies that

work well with ammonia (or ammonia-derived

hydrogen) as an energy source. Ammonia

can be reacted with oxygen from the air in

a fuel cell to produce electricity or it can be

burned in internal combustion engines and

gas turbines. All uses have their advantages,

challenges and requirements for research

and development (see Table 1).

Technology (efficiency) Required pre-treatment Capital Cost (£/kW)

Proton exchange membrane

(PEM) fuel cell

(40 – 50%)

Ammonia decomposition

Trace ammonia removal

100 (mobile)

1,300 (stationary)

Alkaline fuel cell (AFC)

(50 – 60%)

None 1300 (stationary)*

Solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC)

(50 – 65%)

None 760 (stationary)

Internal combustion engine (ICE)

(30 – 40%)

Ammonia can be used directly but

partial decomposition is beneficial

30 – 45 (mobile)

1,000 (stationary)

Boilers and Furnaces

(85 – 90%)

None 150 – 350 (stationary)

Combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT)

(55 – 60%)

Ammonia can be used directly but

partial decomposition is beneficial

750 (stationary)

Fuel technologies applicable to ammonia.

TABLE 1

Estimated cost values for mobile and static applications are based on current technologies that are under development.

*Currently, there are no AFCs that would be close to technological readiness for a mobile system. For stationary systems,

from a raw materials viewpoint, it would be expected that the price would be competitive with other fuel cell systems,

but only two companies are currently developing them, so data is not available on these systems.

Ammonia can be

burned in internal

combustion

engines.

28 AMMONIA: ZEROCARBON FERTILISER, FUEL AND ENERGY STORE

CHAPTER TWO

TABLE 1

Advantages Challenges R&D Focus

Established technology

Suitable for mobile applications

Cost and use of platinum

Sensitive to un-cracked ammonia

Trend for decreasing platinum use

Development of ammonia technologies

Non-use of platinum

(or similar metals)

Highly tolerant of ammonia

Low energy density

Few commercial suppliers

Requires carbon dioxide

scrubbing

Increase in energy density

Improve suitability for stationary applications

Innovation for carbon dioxide scrubbing

Direct ammonia systems

Established technology

Decomposes ammonia in-situ

Non-use of platinum

(or similar metals)

High temperatures of operation

Large-scale commercialisation

Corrosion of components

Improve suitability for stationary

applications, combining heat and power

Investigate for transportation applications

Reduction of oxidation impacts

Established technology with other

fuels (ie ammonia mixtures with

gasoline, diesel, hydrogen, etc.)

Robust technology

High power density

Pure ammonia combustion still

under development

gases and ammonia slip need

to be limited

Low efficiency

Development of novel ammonia

cracking systems

Ammonia can be used to remove NO

gases

Improved combustion technologies to

fully burn ammonia

Established technology at low

ammonia content (up to 20 wt%)

Very robust technology

High power outputs (>1MW)

Increase in ammonia content

Reduction of ammonia slip

gases need to be limited

Corrosion caused by aggressive

atmospheres

Improvement in injection and

combustiontechnologies

Development of new systems that

use new materials and innovative

distributionconcepts

High power outputs (>1MW)

Support to produce power

during peak consumption times

Full cycle development

(heat, power, cooling)

Ammonia complete combustion still

under development

gases need to be limited

Technology under development:

gases are required to

belimited

Development of new combustors for

efficient burning

Ammonia can be used to remove NO

gases during combustion

Global (Japan) efforts to design a large

power unit by 2030

AMMONIA: ZEROCARBON FERTILISER, FUEL AND ENERGY STORE 29

CHAPTER TWO

Figure 17 shows a comparison of various

fuels(including storage weights and

efficiencies) for mobile applications using a

range of different energy sources. Although

hydrocarbon fuels store more energy, the

greater efficiency of ammonia powered fuel

cells means that, for example, direct ammonia

fuel cells have a similar overall performance

to liquid propane gas (LPG) powered internal

combustion engines. Potential alternative

low-carbon energy vectors, such as lithium

batteries and liquid-to-gas expansion systems,

have a much lower energy density than all

chemical storage options and their suitability

is dependent on the energy demands of

thejourney.

Specific energy and energy density of a range of energy stores for mobile applications

accounting for typical container properties and energy conversion technology efficiencies.

FIGURE 17

ICE – Internal combustion engine, FC – fuel cell, LPG – liquid propane gas.

Energy per unit mass (kWh/kg)

Energy per unit volume (kWh/l)

0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0

0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

Nitrogen (liquid)

Li battery (Nissan Leaf)

Ammonia (ICE)

Methane (250 bar)

Hydrogen (700 bar)

Methanol (FC)

Methane (liquid)

Ethanol

LPG

Ammonia (FC)

Petrol

Diesel

Hydrogen (liquid)

30 AMMONIA: ZEROCARBON FERTILISER, FUEL AND ENERGY STORE

CHAPTER TWO

Ammonia is a suitable fuel for transport modes

where large amounts of energy are required

for extended periods of time and where

batteries or direct electrical connection are not

practical or cost effective. Examples include

heavy good vehicles, trains, aviation and

shipping (see Case study 4). The MAN Energy

Solutions’ demonstration programme to retrofit

current liquid natural gas marine engines

to run on ammonia, offers an economically

feasible route toward the decarbonisation of

large-scale maritime transportation. Progress

in the modification of internal combustion

engines and gas turbines to run on ammonia

similarly offers a viable transition that is based

around retrofitting current technologies which

impact both transportation and electricity

production. Combustion of ammonia may also

help meet industry requirements for process

heat in areas which are difficult to electrify,

fulfilling a role which is currently played by

fossil fuels. Similarly, ammonia could also be

used to provide green hydrogen for low-

carbon steelmaking methods

Direct ammonia solid-oxide fuel cells offer a

high efficiency route both for transportation

and future electricity production. Advances

in solid oxide fuel cells, for example from the

NASA Glenn Research Center

, have led to

high specific and volumetric power densities of

up to 2.5kW/kg and 7.5kW/l that are sufficient

to power unmanned aerial vehicles and have

the potential to facilitate the reduction of

carbon emissions from aviation.

47. International Energy Agency. 2017 Renewable Energy for Industry. See https://www.iea.org/publications/insights/

insightpublications/Renewable_Energy_for_Industry.pdf (accessed 24 October 2019).

48. NASA Technology Transfer Program. 2017 High Power Density Solid Oxide Fuel Cell. See https://ntts-prod.

s3.amazonaws.com/t2p/prod/t2media/tops/pdf/LEW-TOPS-120.pdf (accessed 10 October 2019).

AMMONIA: ZEROCARBON FERTILISER, FUEL AND ENERGY STORE 31

CHAPTER TWO

49. Giddey S, Badwal SPS, Munnings C, Dolan M. 2017 Ammonia as a Renewable Energy Transport Media. ACS

Sustainable Chem Eng., 5, 10231-10239. (doi:10.1021/acssuschemeng.7b02219).

2.4 The use of ammonia in heating

andcooling

In addition to using ammonia combustion as

a source of heat, ammonia can also store

and release significant energy on changing

between its liquid and gas forms (1371.2 kJ/kg

at atmospheric pressure). It has the potential to

become significant in the decarbonisation of

space heating and cooling. Star Refrigeration,

based in the UK, has recently developed and

installed heat pumps based on ammonia, that

can use low-grade waste heat to generate

heated water up to 90°C.

Ammonia can also be used in thermochemical

heat storage systems, where the reversible

reaction of ammonia and a metal salt can be

used to store and release heat. These systems

are at a proof-of-concept stage and could find

practical application in long-term heat storage

for buildings.

2.5 Energy conversion efficiency

The process of converting water and air into

ammonia using electrolysis and the Haber-

Bosch process consumes energy. Similarly,

the cracking of ammonia to hydrogen also

consumes energy, as does the conversion

of hydrogen to electricity in a fuel cell. It

is possible to calculate all these losses

and express them as a percentage overall

efficiency – a measure of the energy output

compared to the energy input. In general, the

greater the number of processes involved,

the lower the overall efficiency, although

this depends upon the efficiency of those

processes. Overall efficiencies for different

ammonia uses are shown in Table 2, along with

hydrogen for comparison. The efficiency of

application becomes the main consideration,

if cheap green ammonia becomes an

internationally traded energy commodity.

Process Efficiency of ammonia

or hydrogen production

(renewable power from wind & solar)

Efficiency of

application

Overall

efficiency

Ammonia from electrolysis and

Haber-Bosch, used with a solid oxide

fuel cell to produce electricity

55 to 60% 50 to 65% 28 to 39%

Ammonia from electrolysis and

Haber-Bosch burned in an internal

combustion engine

55 to 60% 30 to 40% 17 to 24%

Hydrogen cracked from ammonia

obtained by electrolysis and Haber-

Bosch, and used in a PEM fuel cell

40 to 50% 40 to 50% 15 to 25%

Hydrogen from electrolysis and used

in a PEM fuel cell

65 to 70% 40 to 50% 26 to 35%

Modelled efficiencies for energy provided from primary electricity

TABLE 2

32 AMMONIA: ZEROCARBON FERTILISER, FUEL AND ENERGY STORE

CHAPTER TWO

CASE STUDY 4

Decarbonising the international maritime sector

The International Maritime Organisation has committed

to reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from

international shipping by at least 50% (compared to

2008) by 2050. One of the key challenges in achieving

these targets is the longlifetime oflarge ships (around 25

years).

The maritime industry has already identified the

significant retrofitting potential for ammonia as a green

fuel for shipping, noting its ease of storage, existing

maritime networks and bunkering capabilities, flexible

use in both combustion engines and fuel cells and

potential relative to other decarbonisation options

A recent Environmental Defence Fund (EDF) report

discusses the decarbonising potential of ammonia in

theinternational maritime sector and highlights Morocco,

which is already investing in large-scale solar energy

generation, as a potential key player with large commercial

ports close to key shipping routes and an abundance

of renewable energy resources

. These include a total

potential for offshore wind of around 250GW, which is

approximately 25 times the current generating capacity

in the country and would provide 770TWh of electricity

annually, which is sufficient to produce green ammonia

forabout a third of the international shipping fleet.

MAN Energy Solutions, a designer and manufacturer

ofmarine engines, have committed to decarbonising

the maritime economy starting with fuel decarbonisation

in container shipping. They are currently developing

ammonia fuelled-engines based on current liquid natural

gas technology and anticipate that the first ammonia

engine could be in operation by early 2022

. MAN

Energy Solutions is also in the process of obtaining flag

state approval to use ammonia as a marine fuel in the

IGC Code (International Code of the Construction and

Equipment of Ships Carrying Liquefied Gases in Bulk).

The accredited classification society, DNV-GL, with 24%

of the market share in shipping, arealso pursuing the

use of ammonia as a marine fuel. Other developments

include Lloyd’s Register granting Approval in Principle

to SDARI (Shanghai Merchant Ship Design& Research

Institute) for the design of a 180,000 ton ammonia-

fuelled bulk carrier

and announcing a project for an

ammonia-fuelled 23,000 TEU ultra-large container

ship (ULCS) concept design fromMAN-ES and DSIC

(Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Co)

. Furthermore ABS

(American Bureau of Shipping), MAN-ES andSDARI

are collaborating to develop ammonia-fuelled

feedervessels

50. Gong W, Willi ML. 2008 United States Patent Application Publication – Caterpillar Inc. See https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/b4/

b0/74/315157b86c9292/US20100019506A1.pdf (accessed 14 November 2019).

51. Ash N, Scarbrough T. 2019 Sailing on Solar: Could green ammonia decarbonise international shipping? Environmental Defense Fund.

See https://europe.edf.org/ﬁle/399/download?token=agUEbKeQ (accessed 23 May 2019).

52. MAN Energy Solutions. 2019 Engineering the future two-stroke green-ammonia engine. See https://marine.man-es.com/docs/librariesprovider6/test/

engineering-the-future-two-stroke-green-ammonia-engine.pdf?sfvrsn=7f4dca2_4 (accessed 14 November 2019).

53. Shanghai Merchant Ship Design & Research Institute. 2019 Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/posts/shanghai-merchant-ship-design-%26-research-

institute_180k-dwt-bc-of-carbon-free-issued-and-obtained-activity-6609776461731717120-oZtk/ (accessed 20th December 2019).

54. Lloyd’s Register. 2019 Industry project to design ammonia-fuelled 23k ULCS concept. See https://www.lr.org/en/latest-news/aip-ammonia-fuelled-ulcs/

(accessed 20 December 2019).

55. American Bureau of Shipping (ABS). 2019 ABS, MAN & SDARI join forces to develop ammonia-fuelled feeder vessel. See https://ww2.eagle.org/en/

news/press-room/abs-man-sdari-develop-ammonia-fueled-feeder-vessel.html (accessed 20 December 2019).

TEU – Twenty-foot equivalent units.

AMMONIA: ZEROCARBON FERTILISER, FUEL AND ENERGY STORE 33

CHAPTER THREE

34 AMMONIA: ZEROCARBON FERTILISER, FUEL AND ENERGY STORE

International perspectives:

activities and future opportunities

There is significant future export potential for

stored renewable energy

. Indeed, the ability

to store and transport sustainable energy

worldwide may be one of the cornerstones

of a zero-carbon energy future. First plans

for the international trading of ammonia as

a renewable energy commodity involve

rich, solar- and wind-resourced countries

and regions. The UK has an excellent

source of renewable wind energy and has

the technological know-how to be a world

leader in the development and use of green

ammonia. Developments in three other

countries are highlighted here to demonstrate

the global effort in green ammonia.

3.1 Japan

In 2015, the Japanese government launched

the R&D programme Strategic Innovation

Promotion Program – Energy Carriers, which

focused on the entire hydrogen energy

value chain, from production, through

transportation and storage, to consumption.

These technologies will be demonstrated

at the Tokyo Olympics in 2020. Part of the

programme explored the potential routes for

importing significant quantities of hydrogen-

containing materials produced in locations with

abundant renewable energy potential such

as Australia and the Middle East. The energy

storage methods under investigation were

liquid hydrogen, liquid organic hydrides (with

primary focus on methyl cyclohexane) and

ammonia . As a result of the Energy Carriers

demonstrations, the Ministry of Energy, Trade,

and Industry added ammonia to its latest

technology roadmap. This has been signed

into law and the new Hydrogen Basic Strategy

has called for imports of carbon-free ammonia

“by the mid-2020s”

Low levels of ammonia in co-firing with

coal and natural gas have demonstrated

stable combustion in Poland and Japan,

while companies such as IHI (Japan) have

announced initial trials to supply power up to

2MW in one of their coal-converted units, with

a goal to replace more than 20% of coal for

the production of cleaner power

. Similarly,

the chemical company, Ube Industries Ltd.

has successfully replaced coal with ammonia

in initial tests for clinker production, and have

found that the quality and strength of the final

product remained the same.

Research is also underway which demonstrates

the feasibility of ammonia:hydrogen blends

for burning in gas turbines

. This indicates

ammonia has the potential for use in combined

cycle gas turbines (CCGT), which provide a

high degree of flexibility in meeting electricity

demand and compensating for the variability

in renewable electricity from wind and

solarsources.

56. Cross-ministerial Strategic Innovation Promotion Program (SIP). 2015 Energy Carriers.

See http://www.jst.go.jp/sip/pdf/SIP_energycarriers2015_en.pdf (accessed 14 October 2019).

57. Ministerial Council on Renewable Energy Hydrogen and Related Issues. 2017 Basic Hydrogen Strategy.

See https://www.meti.go.jp/english/press/2017/pdf/1226_003b.pdf (accessed 14 October 2019).

58. IHI Corporation. 2018 World’s highest level of combustion test facilities for coal-ﬁred power plants.

See https://www.ihi.co.jp/ihi/all_news/2017/technology/2018-3-28/index.html (accessed 14 October 2019).

59. Kobayashi H, Hayakawa A, Somarathne KDKA, Okafor EC. 2019 Science and technology of ammonia combustion.

Proceedings of the Combustion Institute, 37, 109-133. (doi: 10.1016/j.proci.2018.09.029).

CHAPTER THREE

AMMONIA: ZEROCARBON FERTILISER, FUEL AND ENERGY STORE 35

3.2 Australia

Given its significant potential for large-scale,

low-cost renewable electricity, Australian

federal and state governments and the

Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial

Research Organisation (CSIRO) have recently

published several hydrogen roadmap

documents, which lay out a trajectory to large-

scale production and export of hydrogen from

Australia. These plans include the synthesis

of green ammonia

. In total, the Australian

Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has

granted A$2.9million (approx. £1.5million) to

deliver feasibility studies at two ammonia

plants in Queensland. Firstly, A$1.9million

(approx. £1million) worth of federal grants

was provided to Queensland Nitrates Pty

Ltd (QNP) to fund a technical and economic

feasibility study that will assess the production

of renewable ammonia at a commercial

scale using an existing plant in Central

Queensland. The aim is to produce 20,000

tonnes of ammonia per year (around 20% of

Queensland’s nitrate demand)

. The second

plant is in Moranbah, Queensland, where

around A$1million (approx. £520,000) was

awarded to Dyno Nobel to conduct a similar

feasibility study. Both studies aim to identify

methods to accelerate the development of

industrial-scale electrolysis equipment and

help lower the costs.

In Western Australia, another recent example

is the feasibility study by ENGIE SA and YARA

International ASA to design a green hydrogen

plant that would be integrated with an existing

YARA ammonia plant in Pilbara

CSIRO has been developing membrane

technology to produce pure hydrogen streams

from cracked ammonia suitable for refuelling

PEM fuel cell vehicles

. This technology

was demonstrated in 2018 and is currently

incommercial development.

3.3 China

Recent International Energy Agency

analyses have explored the potential to

significantly reduce the cost of renewably-

produced hydrogen and ammonia by using

a combination of wind and solar resources in

areas of East China

. The analysis showed

that by using these renewable energy

resources, cost reductions in the region of

10 – 20% could be achieved, particularly if

the Haber-Bosch process could be run with

increased flexibility than current modes of

operation. If realised, the estimated lowest

cost of ammonia values of between £380

– 420/tonne are close to being competitive

withcoal-based ammonia production in the

region even without CCS costs added.

60. Bruce S et al. 2018 National Hydrogen Roadmap. CSIRO, Australia.

61. Australian Renewable Energy Agency. 2019 Queensland green ammonia plant could use renewable hydrogen.

See https://arena.gov.au/news/queensland-green-ammonia-plant-could-use-renewable-hydrogen/

(accessed 14 November 2019).

62. ENGIE. 2019 ENGIE and YARA take green hydrogen into the factory. See https://www.engie.com/en/news/yara-green-

hydrogen-factory/ (accessed 14 November 2019).

63. Lamb KE et al. 2018 High-Purity H2 Produced from NH3 via a Ruthenium-Based Decomposition Catalyst and

Vanadium-Based Membrane. Ind. Eng. Chem. Res, 57, 8–13. (doi: 10.1021/acs.iecr.8b01476).

64. International Energy Agency. 2019 The Future of Hydrogen. See https://www.iea.org/hydrogen2019/

(accessed 29 May 2019).

Conclusion

The global production of 176 million tonnes of

ammonia per year accounts for around 1.8%

of overall global carbon dioxide emissions.

To meet net-zero targets, an urgent plan to

decarbonise ammonia production must be

developed and implemented, which in turn

would open opportunities for ammonia to

replace fossil fuels in other applications.

The majority of the carbon dioxide emitted during

ammonia production comes from thesteam

methane reforming (SMR) process for hydrogen

production. In the short-term, to manage the

transition to net-zero carbon systems, ‘blue

hydrogen’ can be produced by incorporating

carbon capture and storagealongside the

SMR process. Thisisunlikely to be a long-term

solution inazero-carbon economy.

The electrolysis of water to produce ‘green

hydrogen’ offers a pathway to zero-carbon

ammonia production but relies on low-

cost sustainable electricity and continuing

reductions in electrolyser costs. Renewable

energy electricity costs from regions rich in

wind and solar energy (at prices between 1.7

and 3.4 GBP pence/kWh) are already close to

a tipping point for the affordable production

of zero-carbon green ammonia. The value of

a green ammonia market would significantly

strengthen the economic opportunities to

extend renewable penetration into the energy

economy. However, while the overall efficiency

remains poor, the energy system must be

considered to ensure that production of

ammonia is relevant to the local situation.

There are several processes that could be

developed with further research to produce

‘green ammonia’ that include new production

catalysts, electrochemical ammonia production

and chemical looping processes. Some

of these technologies may address the

challenges of directly coupling ammonia

production to intermittent renewable power.

In addition to decarbonising the existing

uses of ammonia, such as the production of

fertilisers for agriculture, the production of

green ammonia from green hydrogen could

offer further options in the drive to reduce

greenhouse gas emissions:

• As an energy storage medium, ammonia

is easily stored in large quantities as a

liquid at modest pressures (10 – 15 bar) or

refrigerated to -33°C. In this form, its energy

density is around 40% that ofpetroleum.

• As a zero-carbon fuel, can also be used

in fuel cells or by combustion in internal

combustion engines, industrial burners and

gas turbines. The maritime industry is likely

to be an early adopter of ammonia as a fuel.

Ammonia also has the potential to be used

to decarbonise rail, heavy road transport

and aviation.

• To generate electricity through fuel cells,

gas turbines or international combustion

engines to provide power to the grid or

remote locations.

• As an effective energy carrier for nascent

international sustainable energy supply

chains. It is lower cost and significantly easier

to store and transport than pure hydrogen,

has existing international infrastructure, can be

cracked to produce hydrogen when required

and is itself a zero-carbon fuel.

• Has the potential to be used in district

heating systems.

A global manufacturing and distribution system

is in place. While the safe transportation and use

of ammonia is well-established, new applications

will require careful risk assessment and

additional control measures may be required to

reduce risks to health and the environment.

The UK possesses expertise in catalysis,

combustion, fuel-cell technologies and

electrolysis that will be key to improving the

efficiencies and reducing the costs of ammonia

combustion, low-carbon hydrogen production,

ammonia cracking and the development of a

broad range of fuel cell technologies.

CONCLUSION

36 AMMONIA: ZEROCARBON FERTILISER, FUEL AND ENERGY STORE

ANNEX

AMMONIA: ZEROCARBON FERTILISER, FUEL AND ENERGY STORE 37

Annex A: Deﬁnitions

Technology readiness levels (TRL)

Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs) are a

technology management tool that provides

ameasurement to assess the maturity of

evolving technology.

Units used in the report.

In the International System of units (SI), energy

is measured in joules (J). Power is the rate of

energy used and is measured in joules per

second or watts (W).

The SI system uses the following scale prefixes:

To simplify the numbers (eg for domestic

energy bills), energy is sometimes quoted

in watt hours (Wh), which is the amount of

energyused at a rate of one watt for one

hour= 3,600 Joules.

For example: running a 1,000 watt (1 kW)

heater for 1 hour has used 1,000 Wh or 1 kWh

of energy (if expressed in joules this would be

3,600,000 J or 3.6 MJ)

Energy content is often expressed in multiples

of watt hours eg MWh, GWh, TWh.

Rate of production given in multiples ofwatts

eg MW, GW.

Btu = The British thermal unit is a non-SI,

traditional unit of heat. MMBtu is 1,000,000Btu

and is equivalent to 293kWh.

Currency exchange (as of 28 November 2019)

System Technology

readiness

level (TRL)

Hydrogen production from ammonia

Ammonia cracking (>700°C) 7 – 9

Ammonia cracking (~450°C)

(non-precious metal)

2 – 4

Ammonia purification 3 – 6

Ammonia production methods

Decarbonised Haber Bosch 5 – 9

Chemical looping processes 1 – 4

Electrochemical production 1 – 3

Biological ‘nitrogen fixation’

production

R&D: decarbonised Haber Bosch production

Improving Haber Bosch

catalysts (lower temperature)

1 – 4

Ammonia separation methods

(lower-pressure operation)

1 – 5

Number Name Symbol

1,000 Kilo k

1,000,000 Mega M

1,000,000,000 Giga G

1,000,000,000,000 Tera T

1,000,000,000,000,000 Peta P

1USD 0.774GBP

1EUR 0.852GBP

1AUD 0.524GBP

Basic

technology

research

Research

to prove

feasibility

Technology

development

Technology

demonstration

System /

subsystem

development

System test,

launch and

operations

TRL 1

TRL 2

TRL 3

TRL 4

TRL 5

TRL 6

TRL 7

TRL 8

TRL 9

ANNEX

38 AMMONIA: ZEROCARBON FERTILISER, FUEL AND ENERGY STORE

Annex B: Acknowledgements

This policy briefing is based on discussions from a workshop held at the Royal Society on 8th

June 2018 and subsequent input. The Royal Society would like to acknowledge the contributions

from those people who attended the workshop, and helped draft and review the policy briefing.

Chair project leader

Professor Bill David FRS, Professor of Chemistry, STFC Senior Fellow, University of Oxford

Steering group

Professor Fraser Armstrong FRS, Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford

Professor Phil Bowen, School of Engineering, Cardiff University

Professor David Fowler FRS, Centre for Ecology and Hydrology

Professor John Irvine, School of Chemistry, University of St Andrews

Dr Laura Torrente Murciano, Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology,

University of Cambridge

Policy briefing contributors

Ms Debbie Baker, CF Fertilisers

Mr Trevor Brown, Consultant, Ammonia Energy Association

Mr Nicholas Cook, CF Fertilisers

Professor Sir Steve Cowley FREng FRS, Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory

Mr Stephen Crolius, Consultant, Ammonia Energy Association

Professor Sir Chris Llewellyn Smith FRS, Department of Physics, University of Oxford

Dr Josh Makepeace, School of Chemistry, University of Birmingham

Dr Cédric Philibert, Senior Analyst, International Energy Agency

Dr Agustin Valera-Medina, Cardiff University

Dr Ian Wilkinson, Programme Manager, Siemens

Dr Tom Wood, Science and Technology Facilities Council

ANNEX

AMMONIA: ZEROCARBON FERTILISER, FUEL AND ENERGY STORE 39

Workshop attendees

Professor René Bañares-Alcántara, Department of Engineering Science, University of Oxford

Mr Chris Bronsdon, Director, Eneus Energy

Ms Morna Cannon, Department for Transport

Professor Richard Catlow FRS, Department of Chemistry, University College London

Mr Phil Cohen, Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Dr Sam French, Senior Business Development Manager, Johnson Matthey

Professor Brian Foster FRS, Department of Physics, University of Oxford

Dr Francisco Garcia Garcia, School of Engineering, University of Edinburgh

Dr John Hansen, Senior Principal Scientist, Haldor Topsøe

Professor Justin Hargreaves, School of Chemistry, University of Glasgow

Professor Tim Mays, Institute for Sustainable Energy and the Environment, University of Bath

Mr Richard Nayak-Luke, Department of Engineering Science, University of Oxford

Dr Thoa Thi Minh Nguyen, Haldor Topsøe

Dr Andy Pearson, Group Managing Director, Star Technical Solutions

Mr Samir Prakash, Head of Emerging Technologies, Government Office for Science

Dr Carlo Raucci, Principal Consultant, U-MAS

Dr Ronan Stephan, Scientific Director, Plastic Omnium

Dr Rob Stevens, Vice President – Decarbonise Technology, Yara International

Ms Rita Wadey, Deputy Director, Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Dr Chris Williams, Manager- Energy Research, Tata Steel

Royal Society Staff

The Royal Society would also like to acknowledge the contributions from the following members

of staff in creating this policy briefing:

Royal Society Staff

Frances Bird, Policy Adviser, Resilient Futures

Alex Clarke, Policy Adviser, Resilient Futures

Paul Davies, Senior Policy Adviser, Resilient Futures

Elizabeth Surkovic, Head of Policy, Resilient Futures

ISBN: 978-1-78252-448-9

Issued: February 2020 DES5711

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