IHI to Start Developing Technology to Directly Synthesize Carbon Dioxide-Free Ammonia from Water and Nitrogen
IHI Corporation, Hokkaido University, Fukuoka University, the University of Tokyo, and metal electrode manufacturer De Nora Permelec Ltd today announced that the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization has selected them to jointly undertake a project to innovate technology to directly synthesize carbon dioxide-free ammonia from water and nitrogen. The project will be part of the Feasibility Study Program on Energy and New Environmental Technology, which is one of a range of that organization’s feasibility study programs.
Ammonia production conventionally employs the Haber-Bosch process, which converts nitrogen to ammonia through a reaction with hydrogen derived from fossil sources. Recent years have seen efforts to develop a Haber-Bosch process using hydrogen created through water electrolysis as a way to tap renewable electricity. The issue with conventional technologies is that hydrogen production processes emit carbon dioxide, while techniques employing water electrolysis are expensive and not very energy-efficient. On top of that, electricity supplies from renewables tend to fluctuate.
This feasibility program aims to ensure low-cost, efficient ammonia production while overcoming renewable energy fluctuations. It will do so by undertaking R&D into ammonia electrochemical synthesis equipment. This integrates hydrogen production from water electrolysis and ammonia synthesis into a single process and thereby materializes direct ammonia synthesis technology. IHI will draw on ammonia electrolytic synthesis operating conditions and performance to assess electrolyzer performance specifications, including the equipment configuration for synthesizing ammonia, and ammonia synthesis efficiency across the entire process. The program is scheduled to run from May 2022 through March 2024, establishing a roadmap for later national projects and paving the way to social implementation.
IHI has committed itself to developing hydrogen and ammonia production and utilization technologies to build a carbon-free value chain. It aims to help create a zero-carbon, circular economy by delivering such carbon-neutral solutions as carbon recycling technology to tap carbon dioxide more effectively.
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