Ammonia as carbon-free energy vector - from green ammonia production to technoeconomic analysis

从化石燃料到可再生能源的能源转型是迈向更可持续未来的重要一步，但能源需求和供应之间的不匹配阻碍了这一步。可再生能源的间歇性给电网带来了不灵活的因素，这只能通过储能方法来克服，这加剧了这个问题。虽然电池存储显示出较高的往返效率，但与化学能存储相比，其适用性随着存储时间的延长而减弱。氢是一种受欢迎的能源载体，许多国家正在向氢经济过渡，氢作为“未来的燃料”。然而，引入氢经济的最大挑战之一是氢储存所需的高成本以及氢气的可燃性。因此，利用富氢化合物代替氢气进行运输和储存可能更有利。为此目的，唯一可以持续生产的无碳氢载体是氨。它具有比氢更大的体积能量密度，并且可以在比氢更温和的条件下作为液体储存，这使得它在几个月的长期能量储存中非常可行。该研究项目将研究从最初的合成阶段到最终的能量输送阶段的整个可持续氨能量循环。

The energy transition from fossil fuels to renewable energies is an important step in the progression towards a moresustainable future but one that is hindered by the mismatch between energy demand and supply. This problem isexacerbated by the intermittent nature of renewable energies which introduce an element of inflexibility to the electric gridthat can only be overcome with energy storage methods. Whilst battery storage displays high round trip efficiency, itsapplicability diminishes over longer storage times in comparison to chemical energy storage. Hydrogen is one suchpopular energy vector with many countries transitioning towards a hydrogen economy with hydrogen as the 'fuel of thefuture'. However, one of the largest challenges for the introduction of a hydrogen economy are the high costs required forhydrogen storage as well as the flammable nature of hydrogen gas. Hence, it may be more advantageous to utilise ahydrogen-enriched compound for transportation and storage purposes instead of hydrogen gas. The only carbon-freehydrogen carrier that can be sustainably produced for this purpose is ammonia. It possesses a greater volumetric energydensity than hydrogen and can be stored as a liquid under milder conditions than hydrogen which make it extremelyviable for long-term energy storage over several months. This research project will investigate the entire sustainableammonia energy cycle from the initial synthesis stages to the final energy delivery stages.