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Ammonia cracking technologies gather traction across Europe

In cracking technology updates this week:

  • Air Liquide’s industrial-scale, ammonia cracking pilot plant at the Port of Antwerp is expected to be operational in 2024.
  • In the UK, AFC Energy has announced a new cracking technology platform.
  • Aramco and Linde Engineering have plans to develop their own ammonia cracking technology based on a new catalyst, with a demonstration plant in northern Germany to follow.
  • And Fraunhofer IMM researchers have developed the compact AMMONPAKTOR cracking reactor system, which will be utilised to feed PEM fuel cells.

Article

Siemens Energy begins work on commercial cracker prototype

Siemens Energy, Fortescue Future Industries and GeoPura are developing a £3.5 million ammonia cracker prototype in Newcastle, UK. The prototype will deliver 200 kg of high-purity, PEM-suitable hydrogen fuel per day, and will be based on Fortescue’s “Metal Membrane Technology” (MMT) purification process. GeoPura will act as offtaker for the prototype facility, with the hydrogen to be used as in its Hydrogen Power Unit fuel cell technology.

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Ammonia for power generation: a new, efficient, low-emissions generator made possible with software enabled technology and precise flameless reaction control

Customers who have historically wanted to use ammonia for power generation have been limited to co-firing with coal or diesel in order to overcome ammonia’s high ignition temperature and slow chemical kinetics. This process comes at a price; carbon emissions, added costs for blending, and significant drops in power output. Fortunately there is a new and cost effective alternative for ammonia-based power generation, one that’s uniquely positioned to run off of 100% ammonia without any reductions in power or efficiency. Precise reaction control, thanks to software-enabled technology, permits the Mainspring Linear Generator to manage fuel compression ratios and utilize a…

Article

Ammonia-powered EV charging in Israel

GenCell Energy and Israeli automotive importer EV Motors have deployed their first off-grid, hydrogen-fueled EV charging station in Netanya, Israel. Based on GenCell’s existing ammonia-fed, alkaline fuel cell systems, the partners hope to deploy a network of off-grid charging stations in both the Israeli and Chinese markets.

In other updates, GenCell and Deutsche Telekom are working to deploy GenCell’s hydrogen & ammonia-fed backup systems for a field trial, and Japan-based TDK Corporation announced they would continue their investment in GenCell’s R&D program for green ammonia synthesis technology.

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AFC Energy: Power Tower & off road racing

Two updates from AFC Energy:

1. The “Power Tower”, a 10kW, ammonia-fueled, off-grid power was launched last month, with Keltbray and Acciona to deploy modular units on construction sites mid-year.

2. The launch of Extreme-H off road racing, with green methanol and ammonia likely to act as hydrogen carriers for the hydrogen-fueled racing championship.

Article

GenCell to roll out its ammonia-fed, off-grid power solution

GenCell Energy has announced its ammonia-fed, off-grid power generation system will be widely available to commercial customers next year, with a select number of units to be deployed in 2022. The GenCell FOX™ is an updated version of the A5™ containerised system, and is designed for use in the telecom sector: especially for remote installations with no access to grid power and which need to operate in harsh weather conditions.

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The Ammonia Wrap: commercial turbines, another GW of green ammonia, Viking Energy updates, and “any-fuel” high-temp PEM fuel cells

Welcome to the Ammonia Wrap: a summary of all the latest announcements, news items and publications about ammonia energy. This week: commercialised ammonia gas turbines, TDK and GenCell join forces, another GW of green ammonia production, small-scale green ammonia in rural Japan, hydroelectric ammonia in Laos, Viking Energy vessel updates, new partnerships for Haldor Topsoe and "any-fuel" high-temp PEM fuel cells.

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Green Ammonia Production Integrated into US Wholesale Power Markets

The High Plains and Rocky Mountain regions of the United States have some of the best renewable energy resources in the world. As more non-dispatchable wind and solar generation is integrated into the power system, it is impacting wholesale power markets. Average wholesale electricity power prices are falling while their volatility is increasing. This creates opportunities for large flexible loads that are capable of consuming energy while prices are low and not consuming energy when prices are high. Result from an analysis of dispatchable fully electric ammonia production integrated into the power system are presented.

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Power-to-Ammonia-to-Power (P2A2P) for Local Electricity Storage in 2025

A carbon-free, circular economy is required to decrease greenhouse gas emissions. A commonly named alternative to the carbon-based economy is the hydrogen economy. However, storing and transporting hydrogen is difficult. Therefore, the ammonia economy is proposed. Ammonia (NH3) is a carbon-free hydrogen carrier, which can mediate the hydrogen economy. Especially for long-term storage (above 1 day), ammonia is more economically stored than hydrogen. Transportation costs are greatly reduced by adopting a decentralized energy economy. Furthermore, political-economic factors influence energy prices less in a decentralized energy economy. With small-scale ammonia production gaining momentum, business models for the decentralized ammonia economy are…