New uses for fossil assets | Ammonia co-firing
Decarbonisation of the existing fossil-fired power plant fleet via ammonia co-firing is a potential strategy being actively pursued by MHI, IHI and the major Japanese power companies
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries has, for example, recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to collaborate on a feasibility study of ammonia co-firing at a coal- fired power plant in Thailand.
The plant in question is owned and operated by BLCP Power Limited (a Thai IPP, which is a 50:50 joint-venture of Banpu Power Public Company Limited (BPP) and Electricity Generating Public Company Limited (EGCO Group)).
The project, which also involves JERA, as well as BPP, EGCO and Mitsubishi, aims to decarbonise the existing power plant, “supporting Thailand in achieving its climate ambitions and becoming a low-carbon society.” Under the feasibility study plan, MHI, with support from Mitsubishi Power, will investigate the supply of ammonia burners, boiler facilities and equipment necessary for ammonia co- firing. JERA will examine the procurement and transportation of ammonia fuel, while JERA and Mitsubishi Corporation will assess port facilities and capabilities for ammonia receiving and storage, with the aim of establishing “an integrated fuel value chain from procurement to utilisation.” BLCP, MHI, Mitsubishi Corporation and JERA will also “jointly conduct studies and develop plans to achieve up to 20% ammonia co-firing.”
Located in Rayong province in southeastern Thailand, the BLCP power station comprises two subcritical coal-fired boilers with a total output of 1434 MW that entered operation in 2006 and 2007. MHI supplied the boilers, steam turbines, and other main equipment for the power station. Thailand has announced its commitment to reach carbon neutrality by 2050, and net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2065 and says it plans to strengthen co-operation with Japan on decarbonisation and use of ammonia and hydrogen.
In December 2022, MHI signed an MoU with Guacolda Energia SpA, a Chilean IPP, with the aim of carrying out a feasibility study on introducing ammonia co-firing at a Guacolda- operated coal-fired power plant in the north of the country, again a facility where MHI supplied the boiler, steam turbine, and other key components.
The signing ceremony was held at the Nagasaki Shipyard & Machinery Works in Japan, the base for MHI’s steam power plant business. The executive team from Guacolda was led by chairman Jorge Rodriguez, with MHI represented by Masahiko Hokano, head of the Steam Power Maintenance Innovation (SPMI) business division. The power plant that is the subject of the study is located in Huasco, Atacama region, about 700 km north of Santiago. The plant comprises five units, with a total output of 758 MW. The Mitsubishi scope in Chile will be similar to that envisaged for the BLCP project in Thailand, including feasibility of ammonia burner supply and other boiler systems necessary for ammonia co-firing. Phase 1, running until 2024, will be a basic study of 30% ammonia co-firing to identify the problems involved. Phase 2, from 2025 to 2026, will consider solutions to problems identified in Phase 1, and result in a detailed plan for demonstration of 30% ammonia co-firing. Looking beyond that, Guacolda aims to conduct demonstration testing at the plant and increase the co-firing rate.
Chile has set a target for carbon neutrality by 2050 and plans to increasingly incorporate renewables into its electricity matrix. As a country with abundant renewable energy resources, Chile is considered to have big potential as a producer of green ammonia, and Guacolda is looking to ammonia co-firing as a means of cutting CO2
emissions and reducing
its environmental load ”in order to maintain operations at its power plant.”
MHI says its position “as the supplier of the core facilities of this power plant, and a leader in ammonia co-firing technologies, led to the conclusion of this MoU.”
MHI is also working with state-owned Taiwan Power Company (TPC) on a study of how ammonia co-firing might be introduced at the Linkou coal-fired power plant, New Taipei, with the aim of reducing coal consumption. The Linkou power plant, located some 20 km west of central Taipei, comprises three supercritical coal-fired boilers and steam turbines supplied by MHI, with total installed capacity of 2400 MW.
The first phase of the Linkou ammonia project, running until the end of 2025, will consist of a basic study aimed at 5% ammonia co-firing, with MHI looking at the supply of ammonia burners and related equipment and Mitsubishi Corporation focused on how to build a supply chain “to secure a stable supply of clean fuel ammonia.”
The second phase of the project, from 2026 onwards, will see “use of one of the units at the Linkou power plant for verification, with the aim of 5% ammonia co-firing in 2028 to 2030, raising the co-firing ratio to 20% and implementing the system for the plant’s other units.”
MHI notes that Taiwan is facing the challenge of ensuring a stable power supply against a backdrop of robust demand, while also under intense pressure to reduce environmental loads and achieve decarbonisation of its gas and coal fired generating capacity. In March 2022, Taiwan published its Pathway to net-zero emissions in 2050, with co-firing of coal and ammonia a decarbonisation technology expected to be capable of having a significant impact, says MHI, which has been a major supplier of fossil fired power generation plants to TPC.
Indonesia is another place where Mitsubishi has been a key provider of fossil-fired power
Above: BLCP power plant, Thailand 16 | April 2023|
www.modernpowersystems.com
Above: Linkou power plant, Taiwan (photo CTCI)
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