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Japan's largest power generation company plans to start using ammonia as a fuel in one of its coal-fired power plants as part of its efforts to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from the facility.
JERA Co., a joint venture between Tokyo Electric Power Holdings (TEPCO) and Chubu Electric Power, and Japanese engineering company IHI Corp. stated on May 24 that the four-year test project will begin in June and will continue until March 2025. The two companies Said that this will be the world's first major project to develop technology that can co-burn large amounts of ammonia in large commercial coal-fired power plants.
The demonstration aims to start from fiscal year 2024 and finally achieve a 20% ammonia co-combustion rate in the 1-GW No. 4 unit of JERA's 4.1-GW Hekinan Thermal Power Station. The project aims to establish the ammonia co-firing technology coal and ammonia co-combustion through the following methods. It will evaluate the environmental impact characteristics of boiler heat absorption and co-firing, such as exhaust gas. JERA has stated that as part of the company's own carbon neutrality goals, it hopes to use 100% ammonia as fuel by 2040.
Ammonia does not emit carbon dioxide when it is burned and is considered a viable alternative fuel for thermal power generation. This project is part of Japan's initiative to achieve a net zero carbon dioxide emission target by 2050.
The two companies stated in a press release on Monday, "According to its'JERA 2050 Zero CO2 Emissions' goal, JERA has been committed to reducing the CO2 emissions of its domestic and foreign operations to zero by 2050 and promoting the adoption of more environmentally friendly fuels. It also pursues thermal power generation. It does not emit carbon dioxide during power generation. JERA will continue to actively develop decarbonization technologies through its own efforts, while ensuring economic rationality, and contribute to the decarbonization of the energy industry."
The two companies said that JERA will use the burners of the 1 GW Unit 5 of the Hekinan plant in Aichi Prefecture, central Japan, to conduct a small-scale ammonia test between August and December this year. According to JERA, JERA and IHI plan to burn approximately 200 metric tons (mt) of ammonia in these tests at Unit 5.
After Japan closed its nuclear power plant after the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident in 2011, the use of thermal power has become more important. Most of these factories are still closed. The government now hopes to reduce its dependence on fossil fuels and increase its use of renewable energy.
JERA officials said on Monday that their company will be responsible for the procurement of ammonia and the construction of related facilities, such as the plant’s storage tanks and evaporators. IHI's mission is to develop a burner that will be used for demonstration.
Three days ago, representatives of the Group of Seven including Japanese and US officials vowed to stop financing overseas coal projects by the end of this year.
JERA did not disclose the cost of the ammonia project on Monday, but a spokesperson said that the Japanese government will fund at least half of the demonstration projects. However, government data shows that the cost of generating electricity for a coal-fired power plant containing 20% ammonia is estimated to be 12.9 yen (US$0.12) per kilowatt hour (kWh), which is higher than 10.4 yen (US$0.10) per kWh without ammonia 20%.
Japanese officials have stated that they want to establish a global supply chain of ammonia used as fuel; the government has stated that it hopes to increase the country's annual ammonia fuel demand from zero to 3 million tons by 2030. Ammonia is currently used in fertilizers and other industrial materials. The researchers said that it may become an important energy source along with hydrogen and that it should be taken seriously because it does not emit carbon dioxide when burned.
JERA officials said on Monday that the company expects to purchase 30,000 to 40,000 metric tons of ammonia by the 2024-25 fiscal year (that is, April 2024 to March 2025) to achieve 20% co-firing of Hekinan Unit 4. A report issued in February by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan stated that the country plans to have 3 million tons of ammonia available every year by 2030. Earlier this year, officials from the Ministry stated that a 1 GW coal-fired power plant would require 20% co-firing of approximately 500,000 tons of ammonia each year.
— Darrell Proctor is the associate editor of POWER (@POWERmagazine).
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