AEA Annual Conference 2023
Monday, November 13 (all times EST)
Sign in to the event at the Atlanta Marriott Buckhead Hotel & Conference Center. A chance to meet your fellow attendees before the official speaking program begins.
Sponsored by Casale  
We open our 2023 annual conference with a keynote from Dolf Gielen, Senior Energy Economist at the World Bank.
Ammonia can be a key clean hydrogen carrier for the coming decades. It offers the prospect of a new clean energy commodity that can be traded widely. However, such trade will depend critically on a harmonized international certification system for the embedded greenhouse gas emissions. This presentation will elaborate the market potential as well as the investment and financing needs based on new analysis. It will draw on the recent clean hydrogen certification experience to suggest solutions for the way ahead.
Dolf Gielen – Senior Energy Economist, The World Bank
Global Ammonia Certification As Enabler for Accelerated Investment and Financing
After our opening keynote session, join other attendees for an afternoon coffee break.
Sponsored by Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners 
Certification is a central theme of this year’s conference. For the first of our two panel discussions dedicated to the topic, we consider the offtaker’s perspective. What do existing & new ammonia buyers need to see to give them confidence in the low-carbon bona fides of the product? How do we design certification systems to not be overly complex for sellers & buyers? Where is the offtake momentum coming from, and what does the ecosystem of ammonia buyers look like going forward?
Vibeke Rasmussen (moderator) – AEA EVP President Elect / SVP Product Management & Certification, Yara
With the conclusion of our opening day speaking program, join other attendees for some drinks & light refreshments. A chance to network, de-brief and connect with the global ammonia energy community.
Sponsored by HyStor Energy  
Tuesday, November 14 (all times EST)
After our keynote presentation to open proceedings on day two of the conference, join other attendees for a morning coffee break.
Sponsored by IHI Energy Solutions  
With more than 100 years of operations, the existing ammonia industry has substantial experience to draw on to ensure the coming wave of industry expansion is done safely, and with the willing engagement of local communities & stakeholders. In this interactive workshop session, we discuss safety, public perception, and local engagement in different countries and how this knowledge can support the development of new ammonia installations. As an outcome from this interactive workshop session, we will discuss the development of a Best Practice toolkit for community engagement and public education.
Featuring:
Alex Gupta (EPRI) – rapid-fire presenter
Naveed Qamar (Yara) – rapid-fire presenter
Gary Smith (ASTI) – rapid-fire presenter
Rob Grant (Pollination Group) – rapid-fire presenter
Alicia Eastman (Intercontinental Energy) – wrap-up panelist
Jennifer Beach (Starfire Energy) – wrap-up panelist
David Richardson (Airgas) – wrap-up panelist
Linda Dempsey (CF Industries) – session chair & moderator
This interactive workshop session will identify the various roles ammonia can play in various new sectors – especially those where ammonia can be directly used. Steel, aviation, polymers and other sectors will be on the agenda, as we explore what it possible today. What is still needed in terms of regulations and permitting? Do these regulations even exist? And if so, are these up to date? Is cost a key hurdle for these applications? When do we expect the first uses of ammonia for such applications?Â
Featuring:
Hady Abdulhady (thyssenkrupp Uhde) – rapid-fire presenter
Blake Hurtik (Argus Media) – rapid-fire presenter
Bill David (Sunborne Systems) – rapid-fire presenter
Eduardo Briales (H2SITE) – rapid-fire presenter
Charlotte Kirk (Fortescue Future Industries) – wrap-up panelist
Jong Chen Foo (OCI) – wrap-up panelist
Alan Hayes (S&P Global) – wrap-up panelist
Stephen Crolius (AEA President Emeritus / President and Co-Founder, Carbon-Neutral Consulting) – session chair & moderator
After the first of our three-track, workshop-style sessions, share refreshments with your fellow attendees and network in an extended lunch break.
Sponsored by N7, thyssenkrupp Uhde & Clean Hydrogen Works 
This interactive workshop session will feature two of the initial case studies from the AEA’s under-development certification scheme. How well does the AEA’s carbon footprint methodology and system specification work? What adjustments should we make to move forward? What business models does ammonia certification support, and how? Session moderated by Nicholas Cook (AEA Certification Committee Chair / Senior EHS and Quality Manager, CF Industries).
In the Netherlands, the modernization of the PGS-12 standard will create a clear and transparent guideline for safe ammonia terminals in the country. In this interactive workshop session, we discuss how existing regulations should be and can be updated with a tangible example of PGS-12 guidelines. What is PGS-12? What updates were necessary to consider new ammonia applications? How can PGS-12 inform terminal design elsewhere? As an outcome from this session, we will use the discussion to structure a potential best practice guideline for port safety.
Featuring:
Stefano de Cilis (Proton Ventures) – rapid-fire presenter
Jong Chen Foo (OCI) – rapid-fire presenter
Gary Smith (ASTI) – rapid-fire presenter
Naveed Qamar (Yara) – rapid-fire presenter
Hasan Yahya (Trigon) – wrap-up panelist
Hans Vrijenhoef (AEA President)Â – session chair & moderator
Net zero ammonia production can be achieved through a combination of technologies, and this interactive workshop session seeks to establish a “toolkit” of options for existing plant owners. CCS combined with SMR or ATR, electrolysis and methane pyrolysis pathways will all be explored. We will also assess modifications to SMRs with hydrogen burners, electric heating in eSMR technology, the role of offsets and biogas coupled with CCS (which will also play a key role for urea production).
Featuring:
Jeremie Esquier (Technip Energies) – rapid-fire presenter
Dave Yeardye (Thermon) – rapid-fire presenter
Francisco Jimenez Garcia (Accelera by Cummins) – rapid-fire presenter
Bowen Xu (OCI Global) – rapid-fire presenter
Jorge Palomar (Iberdrola) – wrap-up panelist
Kristine Clark (CF Industries) – wrap-up panelist
Brian Fuller (KBR) – wrap-up panelist
Ermanno Filippi (Casale) – wrap-up panelist
Dennis Lippmann (President & CEO, thyssenkrupp Uhde USA)Â – session chair & moderator
After we finish the day’s workshop-style sessions, recharge with a coffee break before the final panel discussion. Sponsorship package still available.
For the second of our panel discussions dedicated to certification, we consider the critical importance of carbon intensity to current & future certification schemes. Why do we need to move beyond color designations, and how are they hampering efforts to properly certify new products? What are the boundaries we need to draw around the carbon intensity of a product, and is a globally harmonized approach emerging? How does a focus on carbon intensity encourage interoperability, and unlock new partnerships?
Alicia Eastman (moderator) – President & Co-founder, InterContinental Energy
With the conclusion of our speaking program on day two of the conference, join fellow attendees for some drinks & refreshments as we celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Ammonia Energy Association. A great chance to network, debrief and reflect on the AEA’s achievements over the past two decades.
Sponsored by KBRÂ 
Wednesday, November 15 (all times EST)
After our third and final keynote presentation of the conference, join other attendees for a morning coffee break. Sponsorship package still available.
This interactive workshop session will feature two more of the initial case studies from the AEA’s under-development certification scheme. How well does the AEA’s carbon footprint methodology and system specification work? What adjustments should we make to move forward? What business models does ammonia certification support, and how? Session moderated by Emile Herben (AEA Certification Working Group Chair / Director, Product Management, Clean Ammonia, Yara).
Before ammonia can be widely adopted as a maritime fuel, robust safety regulations and guidelines must be developed to govern vessel design, bunkering operations, and on-board storage and use. The industry has already developed such regulations for new fuels like LNG, LPG, and methanol. For ammonia – although the hazards are different – the process for developing these regulatory codes will be the same.
There is a strong case for gathering the lessons learned from previous development processes for new fuel regulations, and for asking how upcoming ammonia demonstration projects can best inform the swift development of a code for ammonia as a fuel. In this interactive workshop session, we explore the state of regulatory progress, and what is the roadmap ahead?
Featuring:
Domagoj Baresic (UMAS) – rapid-fire presenter
Thomas McKenney (Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping) – rapid-fire presenter
Sam Lewis (Southern Devall) – rapid-fire presenter
Tsuyoshi Ohkawa (NYK) – wrap-up panelist
Koichi Kawanaka (MOL) – wrap-up panelist
Conor Furstenberg Stott (Furstebberg Maritime Authority) – session chair & moderator
This interactive workshop session will identify the potentially critical role ammonia can play in the power generation sector, including large-scale ammonia usage in gas turbines and thermal power plants, as well as ammonia as fuel for off-grid power generation. What is the available technology set, and key opportunities and challenges for each? What is the value proposition for these electrons? What is the roadmap for commercial deployment: time frame, regulatory path, R&D requirement?
Featuring:
Ricky Sakai (MHI) – rapid-fire presenter
Mike Rendall (AFC Energy) – rapid-fire presenter
Glenn Lansford (IHI Energy Solutions) – rapid-fire presenter
Tim Mulders (Duiker) – rapid-fire presenter
Frank Wouters (Reliance Industries) – session chair & moderator
After the first of our workshop-style sessions on day three of the conference, share refreshments with your fellow attendees and network in an extended lunch break.
Sponsored by Accelera by Cummins, Envision Group & Yara   
Ammonia as a fuel will soon be used to support decarbonization of large segments of the energy system, including transportation and power generation. As a fuel, ammonia does not produce CO2 emissions when combusted directly, but combustion emissions such as NOx and N2O and unburnt NH3 will need to be mitigated with technology and managed with regulations. In this interactive workshop session, we will investigate what is required to gain a clear understanding regarding emission levels, supporting public confidence in the use of ammonia as a low-emission fuel. Standardization will allow us to develop a strong position on management and acceptable limits of emissions for the use of ammonia as a fuel.
Featuring:
Robert Steele (EPRI) – rapid-fire presenter
Toshiyuki Suda (IHI Corporation) – rapid-fire presenter
Cindy Lim (Keppel Infrastructure) – session chair & moderator
Solid oxide electrolysis and fuel cells are both nearly commercial at the industrial scale, with significant relevance for both ammonia production and ammonia fuel use. In this interactive workshop session, we will explore multiple case studies, including integration of steam from the ammonia loop to solid oxide electrolysis, and a solid oxide fuel cell in maritime vessel. What does the roadmap look like for SOECs and SOFCs to reach TRL 8-9?
Featuring:
Rick Beuttel (Bloom Energy) – rapid-fire presenter
Hacib Benaissa (Lynas Rare Earths) – rapid-fire presenter
Steven Weber (Ceres Power) – rapid-fire presenter
Rob Stevens (Topsoe) – session chair & moderator
After we finish our final block of workshop-style sessions, recharge with a coffee break before our wrap-up panel discussion. Sponsorship package still available.
To close our conference, we welcome the Ammonia Energy Association’s office-holders to give their perspectives. What were their highlights of the event, what are the critical outcomes, and what are the next steps to keep the momentum going forward? A look ahead to the AEA’s priorities for the next twelve months.
Featuring:
Hans Vrijenhoef – President, AEA
Vibeke Rasmussen – EVP-President Elect, AEA
Rob Stevens – VP-Past President, AEA
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Jennifer Beach – Treasurer, AEA
Ashwani Dudeja – Secretary, AEA
Trevor Brown (moderator) – Executive Director, AEA
Thank you to our sponsors.
Hotel Key Cards
Welcome Reception
Anniversary Reception
Registration & Lanyards
Networking Luncheon
Networking Luncheon
Networking Luncheon
Networking Luncheon
Coffee Break
Networking Luncheon
Networking Luncheon
Coffee Break
Click here to see sponsorship opportunities. Please contact Denise Sheehan for more details.
