firing power plant trials

Korea Electric Power

19/03/2024 08:22

SINGAPORE, March 19 (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.
    Companies are planning to burn ammonia alongside fossil
fuels to generate electricity and cut emissions at power plants,
though environmentalists have criticised the move as a way to
extend the life of dirty coal-fired plants.
    Below are other trials across the Asia-Pacific region.
    
    JAPAN
    JERA is conducting the trial at Hekinan plant with heavy
machinery maker IHI  7013.T  from March 26 to June 19.
    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 by around 2028.
    Kyushu Electric Power  9508.T  has run two trials to co-fire
0.1% ammonia on a calorific value basis with coal: at the
Reihoku power station in April 2023 and at the Matsuura power
station in November 2023.
    Japanese oil refiner Idemitsu Kosan  5019.T  has conducted a
demonstration in which more than 20% of the existing fossil fuel
was switched to ammonia at a commercial naphtha cracking furnace
at its Tokuyama complex in Yamaguchi prefecture, western Japan.
The trial took place from Feb. 6 to 8 and confirmed the
feasibility of ammonia combustion.
        
    INDONESIA
    In Indonesia where coal accounts for over 60% of its power
mix, trials have also started.
    PT Indo Raya Tenaga tested ammonia co-firing in December at
its Jawa 9 and Jawa 10 coal-fired power plants in Banten.
    South Korea's heavy equipment maker Doosan Enerbility signed
an MOU with Indonesia Power in September to supply the
coal-fired Suralaya Power Station with ammonia.
    Japan's IHI with PT PLN Nusantara Power co-fired ammonia at
the gas-fired Gresik Steam Power Plant in October 2022.
    
    INDIA
    Adani Power plans to co-fire up to 20% green ammonia in the
Mundra Plant, India's largest private sector power plant, it
said in November.
    
    MALAYSIA
    Tenaga Nasional Berhad is conducting a study with IHI for an
ammonia co-firing project at its two thermal power plants in
Perak and Negeri Sembilan.

    PHILIPPINES
    JERA agreed to study ammonia co-firing at the Philippines'
coal plants run by Aboitiz Power Corp.
    EGCO Group, Quezon Power and Doosan signed an MOU in
February 2023 to study ammonia co-firing at EGCO Group’s Quezon
power plant in the Philippines.
    
    SINGAPORE
    Sembcorp Industries, IHI and GE Vernova’s Gas Power business
have signed an MOU to explore a potential retrofitting of
Sembcorp’s Singapore Sakra power plant with ammonia-firing
capabilities.
    
    SOUTH KOREA
    Idemitsu signed an MOU with Korea Electric Power Corporation
(KEPCO) which aims to burn ammonia at its coal-fired plants.
    
    TAIWAN
    IHI concluded an MOU with Taiwan Power Company (TPC) and
Sumitomo Corporation in February, to conduct ammonia co-firing
demonstration tests at the Kaohsiung Talin Power Plant.  
    Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) signed an MOU with TPC on
November 2022 to conduct a study on introducing ammonia
co-firing at the Linkou Thermal Power Plant in New Taipei City.
    
    THAILAND
    MHI signed an MOU in January to collaborate in a study for
ammonia co-firing at a coal-fired Thailand thermal power plant
operated by BLCP Power, an independent power producer and a
joint venture between Banpu Power Public Company Limited and
EGCO Group.

 (Reporting by Cassandra Yap in Singapore and Yuka Obayashi in
Tokyo; Editing by Florence Tan and Miral Fahmy)
 ((cassandra.yap@thomsonreuters.com;))