Ammonia is one of the most widely produced and used chemicals in the world, with a market size of about 180 million tons/year and a seaborne trade volume of about 20 million tons/year. Ammonia-related storage and transportation regulations, standards and infrastructure are well established. Green ammonia is a very promising direction for hydrogen energy development, which is synthesized from green hydrogen and nitrogen in the presence of a catalyst. On the one hand, green ammonia can be used as a carrier for green hydrogen to solve the hydrogen storage and transportation problem. On the other hand, green ammonia can also be directly applied to fuel cells or burned as a fuel.
The production of green hydrogen from renewable energy by electrolysis of water and the catalytic synthesis of ammonia from green hydrogen and nitrogen is the first technological route to industrial production of green ammonia. In addition, cutting-edge green ammonia production technologies include electrochemical nitrogen reduction (NRR) ammonia synthesis technology, photocatalytic ammonia synthesis process, etc. Liquid ammonia has a higher hydrogen content per unit volume than liquid hydrogen and is extremely competitive as a green hydrogen storage and transportation carrier. The ammonia to hydrogen process is divided into two parts: ammonia decomposition and VPS purification.
In addition to being a storage and transportation carrier for green hydrogen, green ammonia is also an important energy source in its own right. In February 2022, the National Energy Administration's "14th Five-Year Plan" for the development and implementation of new energy storage proposed the development of ammonia energy storage technology. In August, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology's "Implementation Plan for Carbon Peaking in Industry" introduced the concept of ammonia fuel. Domestic and foreign enterprises and research institutions are actively exploring ammonia for high-temperature kiln fuel, ammonia combustion for power generation, ammonia-fueled ships, ammonia fuel cells, etc.
According to the statistics of ASIACHEM, Several hydrogen-ammonia integration projects have been signed or filed in China.
Tongliao 10 million kilowatt-class hydrogen and ammonia storage integrated zero carbon industrial park:
On September 8, Tongliao Municipal People's Government, China Investment Association and CHINA TIANYING INC. signed the Strategic Cooperation Framework Agreement. The three parties reached a strategic cooperation around the construction of Tongliao 10 million kilowatt-class hydrogen and ammonia storage integrated zero carbon industrial park. The project includes 6GW of wind power generation, 4GW of photovoltaic power generation, 2GWH of gravity energy storage, 50,000 tons/year of green hydrogen and 300,000 tons/year of green ammonia, with a total investment of RMB 60 billion. The three parties will also work together to build a zero carbon industry equipment manufacturing center, focusing on gravity energy storage, green hydrogen, green ammonia, and biomass northern zero carbon equipment manufacturing center, with a total investment of RMB 10 billion. And they jointly initiated the establishment of Gravity Energy Storage Research Institute, Green Hydrogen Research Institute, Green Ammonia Research Institute, and Biomass Energy Research Institute.
Doran County scenic hydrogen storage to green ammonia project:
On August 14, The consortium led by Beijing Energy International Holding Co., Ltd. and the People's Government of Duolun County, Xilinguole League, Inner Mongolia signed a framework agreement for the cooperation and development of the scenic hydrogen storage to green ammonia project. After the completion of the project, it is expected that the scale of electrolytic hydrogen production will be 300 tons per day and the scale of annual green ammonia production will reach 600,000 tons, which will realize intensive development of resources, expand new ways, new modes and new scenes of new energy utilization, promote the synergistic development of the industry chain from regional green power energy to green chemical products, and boost the transformation and upgrading of regional energy structure.
Ulaat scenery hydrogen ammonia integration project:
On July 12, a new demonstration project of scenery-hydrogen-ammonia integration in Ulatzhong Banner Ganqimadu Port Processing Park of China Energy Group Guohua Investment Mengxi Company was recorded. The project is located in Inner Mongolia Bayannur City Ullat Central Banner Ganchi Maodu Port Processing Park, covering an area of about 300 acres, with a planned total investment of 2.3 billion yuan, supporting the planning of new energy installed capacity of 1.1 million kilowatts, including 800,000 kilowatts of wind power and 300,000 kilowatts of photovoltaic.
The project will make high quality hydrogen by decomposing water with wind power, which will be used to produce synthetic ammonia with an annual output of 300,000 tons of green ammonia for chemical production in the industrial park in the western part of Mongolia. After completion, the annual electricity consumption will be about 3.031 billion kWh, and the annual production of one ton of ammonia will consume 164 kg of standard coal and emit 0.54 tons of carbon dioxide, which is expected to save 109,200 tons of standard coal of equivalent value every year, and the energy consumption is much lower than that of traditional fossil energy for hydrogen production.
Guoneng Alashan High-tech Zone megawatt scenery hydrogen ammonia + infrastructure integrated low-carbon park demonstration project:
On May 5, Alashan League 2022 spring alliance focused on signing the contract, which includes the China Energy Alashan high-tech zone million kilowatts of scenery hydrogen ammonia + infrastructure integration low-carbon park demonstration project. This project provides new energy green power and green hydrogen and ammonia production and supply for the high-tech zone through the integrated design of scenery hydrogen and ammonia, relying on the current situation of high energy and hydrogen (ammonia) consumption of chemical enterprises in the high-tech zone. The total investment of the project is expected to be RMB 13.7 billion, including RMB 1.3 billion for the hydrogen and ammonia project.
After completion, the project will generate 4.759 billion kilowatt hours of new energy generation per year and produce 700,000 tons of ammonia per year, with 200,000 tons of ammonia production and 40,000 standard cubic meters of hydrogen production per year in the first phase of phased implementation. The renewable energy utilization rate of the project reaches 94.73%. After the completion of the project, through the sand industry, new energy, hydrogen ammonia plant and other projects, it will drive employment of about 500 people, ecological restoration area of about 25,000 mu, annual carbon dioxide emission reduction of about 4.75 million tons, and annual profit tax of about 200 million yuan.
Chifeng scenic green hydrogen and green ammonia integration demonstration project:
On March 28, Chifeng Municipal People's Government and Envision Group held a signing ceremony for a strategic cooperation agreement. According to the agreement, Vision Science and Technology Group will build a demonstration project of green hydrogen and green ammonia integration in Chifeng City with a total investment of about 40 billion yuan, which is expected to be completed and put into operation before 2028. Among them, the project plans to produce 1.52 million tons of zero-carbon industrial gas products annually, and the first phase of the project will be put into operation within two years, becoming the world's first zero-carbon hydrogen ammonia project.
The green hydrogen and green ammonia production base will provide zero-carbon ammonia, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen and other industrial gas products for industrial production in the Chifeng Economic and Technological Development Zone, cut carbon emissions in the park, and turn Yuanbaoshan Chemical Park into a zero-carbon chemical park by relying on the advantages of zero-carbon industrial gas products and advanced energy storage air separation process.
Damao Banner scenic hydrogen production and green flexible chemical integration of green hydrogen to ammonia (green ammonia) project:
On March 18, Baotou Damao Banner Landscape Hydrogen Production and Green Flexible Chemical Integration Green Hydrogen to Synthetic Ammonia (Green Ammonia) Project was approved for public record. on June 22, the project was started. The project is jointly invested by SPIC and Tsinghua Haixia Research Institute, with Smart Energy (SNPDRI) as the EPC lead party. The project is located in Darhan Maomingan United Banner, Baotou City, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, mainly including 200 MW wind power and 200 MW photovoltaic, with an expected annual power generation of 1.25 billion kWh; using scenery electrolysis to produce hydrogen, with an annual production of 17,800 tons of hydrogen; and then using hydrogen and nitrogen as raw materials to synthesize liquid ammonia products, with an annual production of 100,000 tons.
ASIACHEM 2022 Green Ammonia Technology and Market Forum will be held in Suzhou, China on December 1. The conference will discuss national and local hydrogen and green ammonia industrial policies and plans, cost analysis of green power, green hydrogen and green ammonia, green ammonia demonstration projects, production processes, catalysts and equipment, green hydrogen and green ammonia standards, certification and global trade, analysis of the advantages and cost comparison of green ammonia as a hydrogen storage and transportation carrier, ammonia decomposition hydrogen production technology, prospects of green ammonia applications in power generation, heating, ships and other fields, progress of ammonia fuel cell technology research, etc.
Data from the <China Green Ammonia Industry Chain Annual Report 2022> by ASIACHEM shows that more than 40 green ammonia projects have been laid out worldwide, such as the U.S. Department of Energy REFUEL program, the commercial green ammonia plant in Denmark, the Neom project in the Middle East, the AREH project in Australia, etc. The total planned capacity of green ammonia worldwide is more than 15 million tons/year. International energy and chemical giants BP, Total, ExxonMobil, BASF and others have entered the green ammonia circuit; China Energy, SPIC and Beijing Energy Holding Co., Ltd. have also laid out several green ammonia demonstration projects.
