Three Danish energy technology companies have opened the doors to the world’s first environmentally friendly ammonia plant in Ramme, Denmark.
The plant will be able to produce 5,000 tons of green ammonia per year, using only solar and wind energy. Topsoe reports that this measure will save 8,200 tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually.
This production figure takes into account the natural fluctuations in electricity generation by the plant’s solar panels and wind turbines. The idea is to optimize the electrolysis and ammonia synthesis circuit based on these fluctuations and improve cost efficiency throughout the process.
This means that the trio of Topsoe, Skovgaard Energy and Vestas has overtaken many other projects in producing green ammonia on a large scale. It received support in the form of 11 million euros (more than 12 million US dollars) from the Danish Energy Technology Development and Demonstration Programme.
The production of grey ammonia – which uses fossil fuels – is currently the norm worldwide and accounts for about 1.2 percent of all carbon dioxide emissions. According to multinational strategy and management consultancy McKinsey, reducing this share would reduce emissions by 1.5 times the total of France’s emissions.
As far as green initiatives go, this one is a no-brainer. First of all, green ammonia is a direct replacement for its grey counterpart in the production of fertilizers and for industrial purposes. McKinsey also points out that replacing green with grey ammonia is one of the easier ways to reduce emissions from agriculture. And as countries increasingly produce renewable energy, production is expected to become even cheaper.
While green ammonia is mainly used to produce fertilizers (about 70% of the world’s supply), it is also used to transport hydrogen safely and cost-effectively. Ammonia can also be used as an energy-efficient fuel.
The Danish plant is an impressive demonstration of Power-to-X technology, which could hopefully pave the way for more green ammonia production plants worldwide.
Hot on its heels is Canadian company FuelPositive, which announced in July that it had commissioned a scalable green ammonia production system in the city of Winnipeg. The company still needs a few more certifications before it can put its modular machines into operation, which promise to produce green ammonia at almost half the cost of producing grey ammonia – right on the farm.
There are several other large-scale projects planned around the world that are expected to come online in the next few years. Of course, there are still many levers that need to be pulled before green ammonia can become the global standard, but the good news is that the technology is now fully available and ready to be deployed.
While a global reduction in CO2 emissions of 1.2 percent may sound like a drop in the ocean, it is one of the more realistic measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that we can expect in the near future.
Source: Topsoe
