New uses for fossil assets |
Above: Suralaya power plant, Indonesia (photo Indonesia Power)
generation technology over the years and is now working on ways to decarbonise the existing fleet by switching to lower carbon fuels.
Under an MoU agreed between MHI and PLN Indonesia Power, a subsidiary of Indonesia’s state-owned electricity provider PT, three feasibility studies are being carried out on co- firing less carbon intensive fuels at power plants owned and operated by Indonesia Power. The three studies are being conducted jointly by Indonesia Power and MHI/Mitsubishi Power. The first study is examining the technical and economic feasibility of co-firing up to 100% biomass at the Suralaya coal-fired power plant (CFPP). The study will consider various aspects of the biomass supply chain, says Mitsubishi, including handling, storage, transport and boiler modification.
The second study, which will also use Suralaya CFPP as the reference plant, will investigate co- firing of ammonia produced by existing ammonia plants in Indonesia. A particular area of focus will be the potential to establish a blue ammonia supply chain, with production and transportation from the ammonia plant and ammonia co-firing technology applied in an existing boiler. The third study is evaluating the technical and economic feasibility of hydrogen co-firing in an MHI-supplied M701F gas turbine at the Tanjung Priok combined cycle facility.
Power company collaborations Meanwhile, on the utility side, JERA (Tepco/Chubu Electric 50:50 joint venture that provides about 30% of Japan’s electricity), is also proving very active in exploring possibilities for using ammonia as a fuel in existing fossil-fuelled power plants. It has, for example, signed an MoU with Aboitiz Power Corporation (a subsidiary of the conglomerate , Aboitiz Equity Ventures) to
undertake a joint study of ammonia co-firing at coal fired power plants in the Philippines. (JERA is an investor in Aboitiz through JERA Asia Pte. Ltd.) JERA also has memoranda of understanding in place with leading ammonia suppliers Yara and CF Industries under which they are looking at collaboration possibilities in the following areas: Sale and purchase of clean ammonia for the planned 20% ammonia co-firing at unit 4 of JERA’s Hekinan coal-fired power plant in Japan, which is targeted to start in 2027. The volume of ammonia required is expected to be up to 500 000 mtpa.
The joint development of 1 million plus mtpa blue ammonia projects that Yara and CF are considering, to be located on the US Gulf Coast.
CF Industries, based in Illinois, USA, is the world’s largest producer of ammonia, and is said to be actively working to decarbonise the ammonia production process. Yara, based in Norway, is one of the world’s largest producers of ammonia and is also working towards decarbonisation. JERA notes that the execution of these MoUs is the result of a tender process for the procurement of clean ammonia that it started in February 2022.
Through this process, JERA says it has entered into discussions with various companies “to compare and evaluate them to determine the potential partners with which it will co-operate in sourcing the clean ammonia for the world’s first commercial scale ammonia co-firing operations.” JERA is also collaborating with IHI to explore potential ways to expand the use of ammonia in Malaysia’s energy sector, including ammonia co- firing at fossil fired power plants. IHI is estimated to have delivered more than 50% of the installed coal-fired power boiler capacity currently in operation in the country.
Malaysia’s 12th Malaysia Plan says it will reduce GHG emissions by 45% by 2030 (from 2005 levels) and achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, with both ammonia and hydrogen expected to play a role in achieving this goal.
Among projects that JERA and IHI are already working together on is the introduction of 20% ammonia co-firing at the Hekinan coal-fired plant (supported by a grant from NEDO (New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization)), with demonstration of a co-firing ratio of over 50% envisaged in the future. JERA has in addition a memorandum of understanding in place with utility peers, Kyushu Electric, Chugoku Electric, Shikoku Electric, and Tohoku Electric, with the aim of exploring collaboration “aimed at the adoption of hydrogen and ammonia as fuel for power generation.” These Japanese power plant owner/ operators “have all been studying ways to use hydrogen and ammonia in their thermal power plants”, says JERA, and “securing large volumes of hydrogen and ammonia to fuel power generation requires establishing and expanding new supply chains through co-operation among companies that are motivated to realise a decarbonised society.”
The MOU, signed in April 2022 by JERA, Kyushu and Chugoku, and recently signed by Shikoku and Tohoku, stipulates that the five companies, each of which operates large-scale fossil-fuelled power plants in Japan, will discuss possibilities for collaboration in the following areas aimed at establishing and expanding supply chains for hydrogen and ammonia for fuel:
joint procurement aimed at reducing hydrogen and ammonia procurement costs for Japanese domestic power plants;
establishment of transportation and storage systems for hydrogen and ammonia; achievement of policy support and development of a regulatory framework for hydrogen and ammonia; and
consideration of collaborative projects related to the introduction of hydrogen and ammonia in Japan.
Above: Hekinen power plant, Japan (photo JERA) 18 | April 2023|
www.modernpowersystems.com
Collaboration by the five companies — all major Japanese electric power companies with large-scale potential demand for hydrogen and ammonia — will “contribute to the early establishment of a stable and economic supply chain” for next-generation, low carbon fuels, says JERA.
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