firing ammonia at coal power plant from March to June

IHI

13/03/2024 12:25

(Adds details from paragraph 10)
    By Yuka Obayashi
       HEKINAN, Japan, March 13 (Reuters) - Japan's top power
generator, JERA, plans to co-fire 20% of ammonia with coal at
its Hekinan thermal power station, in what it said will be the
world's first trial using a large amount of 
the gas at a major commercial plant.
    The trial, to be conducted with heavy machinery maker IHI
 7013.T , will take place from March 26 to June 19 and is part
of JERA's decarbonisation efforts, it said.  
    The project, which started in 2021 with small volumes of
ammonia at another unit at Hekinan, is aimed at cutting carbon
dioxide (CO2) emissions by replacing some coal with cleaner
fuels.
    Ammonia is mainly made from hydrogen produced from natural
gas and nitrogen from the air. It does not emit CO2 when burned,
but its production releases emissions if it is made with fossil
fuels.
    Japan, the world's fifth-biggest CO2 emitter, aims to use
ammonia and hydrogen as fuels for thermal power generation to
help achieve its 2050 goal of becoming carbon neutral, though
environmentalists have criticized the move as a way to extend
the life of dirty coal-fired power generation.
    "By conducting this demonstration and establishing
combustion technology, we can take the first step toward
promoting zero-emission thermal power plants that do not emit
CO2," Katsuya Tanigawa, head of the Hekinan power station, told
reporters.
    JERA wants to gradually increase the ammonia component with
a view to eventually reaching 100% in its power plants and has
high hopes of pioneering a new way of reducing CO2 emissions at
coal-fired power plants that could be adopted in other
countries.
    "We want to contribute to the decarbonisation of the entire
world through the use of our technology in countries and regions
where thermal power plants are needed," he said.
    JERA, a joint venture between Tokyo Electric Power  9501.T  
and Chubu Electric Power  9502.T , plans to use 40,000 metric
tons of ammonia for the demonstration, but did not disclose
where it will buy ammonia from.
    JERA aims to start ammonia co-firing on a commercial basis
at Hekinan No.4 unit as early as 2027 and a trial of replacing
50% of coal with ammonia at No.5 unit in around 2028.
    While success in adapting power plants to using ammonia
could be a breakthrough, even if not enough to satisfy anti-coal
campaigners, significant challenges remain - costs, adequate
supply of ammonia, technology to control nitrogen oxide (NOx)
emissions and safety of handling high volume of toxic ammonia.

 (Reporting by Yuka Obayashi; Editing by Sharon Singleton)
 ((Yuka.Obayashi@thomsonreuters.com; +813-4520-1265;))