Chapter 8 - Techno-Economic Aspects of Production, Storage and Distribution of Ammonia
Abstract
The cost of green ammonia is determined primarily by its production cost, but it is also influenced by the cost of distribution and storage. Production costs are a function of plant location, size, and whether the plant is islanded or semi-islanded, that is whether the power source is variable renewable energy (VRE) or grid electricity. Capital costs for a green ammonia plant consist of equipment for the production of hydrogen (electrolyzer) and nitrogen (air separation), ammonia synthesis (Haber–Bosch, compressors and separators) and storage. Operating costs are mainly due to power consumption. The electrolyzer dominates both capital and operating costs in the manufacture of green ammonia.
Ammonia is stored in either pressurized or refrigerated vessels with the latter preferred for large scale storage. Distribution of ammonia may involve several transport modes depending on the location of the production and consumption sites. Inland transport can involve pipelines, trains, and trucks, and offshore shipping is generally done with medium, large or very large gas carrier vessels with refrigerated tanks.
A case study to supply a fleet of 36 ultralarge container vessels (ULCVs) operating between the ports of Shanghai and Rotterdam is used to exemplify the combination of production, storage and transportation costs.
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Levelised cost of transmission comparison for green hydrogen and ammonia in new-build offshore energy infrastructure: Pipelines, tankers, and HVDC
2024, International Journal of Hydrogen EnergyAs the global market develops for green hydrogen and ammonia derived from renewable electricity, the bulk transmission of hydrogen and ammonia from production areas to demand-intensive consumption areas will increase. Repurposing existing infrastructure may be economically and technically feasible, but increases in supply and demand will necessitate new developments. Bulk transmission of hydrogen and ammonia may be effected by dedicated pipelines or liquefied fuel tankers. Transmission of electricity using HVDC lines to directly power electrolysers producing hydrogen near the demand markets is another option. This paper presents and validates detailed cost models for newly-built dedicated offshore transmission methods for green hydrogen and ammonia and carries out a techno-economic comparison over a range of transmission distances and production volumes. New pipelines are economical for short distances, while new HVDC interconnectors are suited to medium-large transmission capacities over a wide range of distances, and liquefied gas tankers are best for long distances.
Feasibility of green ammonia trading via pipelines and shipping: Cases of Europe, North Africa, and South America
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Global trading of renewable electricity-based fuels and chemicals to enhance the energy transition across all sectors towards sustainability
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Impact of climate and geological storage potential on feasibility of hydrogen fuels
2023, Applied EnergyElectrofuels, including hydrogen, methane and ammonia, have been suggested as one pathway in achieving net-zero greenhouse gas energy systems. They can play a role in providing an energy storage and fuel or feedstock to hard-to-abate sectors. In future energy systems their role is often studied in case studies adhering to specific region. In this study we study their role by defining multiple archetypal energy systems, which represent approximations of real systems in different regions. Comparing the role of electrofuels across the cost-optimized systems relying only on renewable energy in power generation, we found that hydrogen was a significant energy vector in all systems, with its annual quantity approaching the classic electricity demand. The role of renewable methane was very limited. Electrofuel storages were needed in all systems and their capacity was the highest in the northern Hemiboreal system. Absence of cavern storage potential did not hamper the significance of electrofuels but increased the role of ammonia and led to average 5.5 % systemic cost increase. Systems where reservoir hydropower was scarce or level of electricity consumption was high, needed more fuel storages. The findings of this study can help for better understanding of what kind of storage and generation technologies will be most useful in future carbon-neutral systems in different types of regions.
A techno-economic analysis of ammonia-fuelled powertrain systems for rail freight
2023, Transportation Research Part D: Transport and EnvironmentAll diesel-only trains in the UK will be removed from services by 2040. High volumetric density, rapid refuelling ability, and sophisticated experience in infrastructure and logistics make ammonia a perfect hydrogen carrying fuel for rail freight, which urgently requires an economically viable solution. This study conducted a novel techno-economic study of ammonia-fuelled fuel cell powertrains to be compared with current diesel engine-based system and emerging direct hydrogen-fuelled fuel cell system. The results demonstrate that hydrogen-fuelled Proton-Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFCs) and ammonia-fuelled PEMFCs (using an ammonia cracker) are more cost-effective in terms of Levelized Cost of Electricity. The ammonia fuel storage requires 61.5-75 % less space compared to the hydrogen storage. Although the ammonia-fuelled Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFCs) powertrain has the highest electricity generation efficiency (56%), the overall cost requires a major reduction by 70% before it could be considered as an economically viable solution.
Techno-economic assessment of green hydrogen and ammonia production from wind and solar energy in Iran
2023, International Journal of Hydrogen EnergyThis paper presents a comprehensive technical and economic assessment of potential green hydrogen and ammonia production plants in different locations in Iran with strong wind and solar resources. The study was organized in five steps. First, regarding the wind density and solar PV potential data, three locations in Iran were chosen with the highest wind power, solar radiation, and a combination of both wind/solar energy. All these locations are inland spots, but since the produced ammonia is planned to be exported, it must be transported to the export harbor in the South of Iran. For comparison, a base case was also considered next to the export harbor with normal solar and wind potential, but no distance from the export harbor. In the second step, a similar large-scale hydrogen production facility with proton exchange membrane electrolyzers was modeled for all these locations using the HOMER Pro simulation platform. In the next step, the produced hydrogen and the nitrogen obtained from an air separation unit are supplied to a Haber-Bosch process to synthesize ammonia as a hydrogen carrier. Since water electrolysis requires a considerable amount of water with specific quality and because Iran suffers from water scarcity, this paper, unlike many similar research studies, addresses the challenges associated with the water supply system in the hydrogen production process. In this regard, in the fourth step of this study, it is assumed that seawater from the nearest sea is treated in a desalination plant and sent to the site locations. Finally, since this study intends to evaluate the possibility of green hydrogen export from Iran, a detailed piping model for the transportation of water, hydrogen, and ammonia from/to the production site and the export harbor is created in the last step, which considers the real routs using satellite images, and takes into account all pump/compression stations required to transport these media. This study provides a realistic cost of green hydrogen/ammonia production in Iran, which is ready to be exported, considering all related processes involved in the hydrogen supply chain.