Three Danish energy tech firms have flung open the doors to the first ever green ammonia plant in the world, in the town of Ramme, Denmark.
The plant is said to be capable of producing 5,000 tons of green ammonia per year, entirely from solar and wind energy. Topsoe reports that this effort will prevent 8,200 tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually.
That production figure accounts for the natural fluctuation in power generated by the plant's solar panels and wind turbines. The idea is to optimize the electrolysis and ammonia synthesis loop based on these fluctuations, and improve cost-effectiveness throughout the process.
With that, the trio consisting of Topsoe, Skovgaard Energy and Vestas have beaten loads of other projects to the punch in producing green ammonia at scale. It received support in the form of €11 million (more than US$12 million) from the Danish Energy Technology Development and Demonstration Program.
Gray ammonia production – which uses fossil fuels – is currently the norm around the globe, and accounts for about 1.2% of all carbon dioxide emissions. According to multinational strategy and management consultancy McKinsey, knocking that off the board would reduce emissions equivalent to 1.5 times that of France as a whole.
As far as eco-friendly initiatives go, this one is a no-brainer. For starters, green ammonia is a direct substitute for its gray counterpart in manufacturing fertilizer and industrial uses. McKinsey also notes that swapping green for gray ammonia is among the easier ways to educe emissions from agriculture. Plus, as countries move towards producing more renewable energy, production is slated to get even cheaper.
While green ammonia is primarily used to make fertilizer (about 70% of the global supply), it's also used to transport hydrogen safely and cheaply. There's also potential to use ammonia as an energy-efficient fuel.
The Danish plant is an impressive demonstration of Power-to-X technology that could hopefully pave the way for more green ammonia production facilities worldwide.
Close on its heels is Canadian firm FuelPositive, which announced in July that it's commissioned a scalable green ammonia production system in the city of Winnipeg. The company needs a couple more certifications before it can power on its modular machines that promise green ammonia at nearly half the cost of gray ammonia production – and right on site for farmers.
There are several more large-scale projects in the works around the world that are scheduled to begin operations in the next couple of years. Naturally, there are lots of levers to activate before green ammonia can become a worldwide standard, but the good news is the tech is fully available to roll out now.
While bringing down CO2 emissions by 1.2 percent globally sounds like a drop in the ocean, it's one of the more feasible reductions in greenhouse gases we can realistically look forward to in the immediate future.
Source: Topsoe
