Our Technology
By reducing the extreme operating conditions of the ammonia reactor, our technology can improve system performance, reduce energy consumption, and lower the levelized cost per tonne of ammonia.
The technology can integrate seamlessly into ammonia reactors, regardless of the output capacity. It is particularly well-suited to new developments such as miniaturized Haber-Bosch container systems for on-site ammonia production, and for medium-scale decentralized green ammonia reactors. It can also be retrofit into large-scale reactors, particularly if they are out of commission during a transition from natural gas feedstock to green hydrogen, minimizing downtime.
Some of the potential applications of ammonia using our technology are outlined below.
Fertilizer Production
The main use of ammonia today is in the production of ammonium nitrate or urea fertilizers, which are shipped from ammonia plants to agricultural sites all over the world. With the fertilizers being formed from natural gas, and subsequently transported large distances by road using vehicles powered by fossil fuels, there is a huge opportunity to decarbonize this sector.
Having on-site green ammonia production capabilities allowing a direct-injection style of fertilizer application is one way to achieve this. It cuts out the additional capital costs associated with the equipment needed to turn pure ammonia into ammonium nitrate or urea. Direct-injection ammonia fertilizer systems are popular in the United States and are becoming increasingly adopted in other countries around the world.
Hydrogen and Energy Storage
Hydrogen has been picked as one of the key replacements for fossil fuels due to its clean combustion (emitting only water) and ability to convert directly to electricity relatively efficiently using a fuel cell. However, the energy density of hydrogen is relatively low and there are issues in storing and transporting hydrogen due to the high pressures required to compress it, and the potential for failure of storage equipment via a phenomenon known as ‘hydrogen embrittlement’.
On the other hand, hydrogen can be converted into ammonia, which can then be easily compressed into a liquid with the application of mild pressure - similar to LPG - and safely transported. Liquid ammonia actually contains more hydrogen than either compressed or liquified hydrogen, and has a higher volumetric energy density. The ammonia can then be cracked back into hydrogen just prior to use in its final application.
In this way, liquified ammonia can also be considered an energy storage solution, where energy can be extracted as long as there is enough stored ammonia. The volumetric energy density of ammonia is approximately 10 times that of Li-Ion battery storage.
Internal Combustion Engines
For some industries, there has been a push to transition to ammonia instead of existing fossil fuels such as diesel, for use in internal combustion engines. This has been mainly observed in the marine shipping industry as well as announcements from Toyota and Tesla that they are investigating and developing ammonia internal combustion engines for passenger cars.