Norway – The Norwegian Government has provided financing to Wärtsilä, Höegh LNG, University of South-East Norway, Sustainable Energy, and BASF SE, among other partners. The funding totals roughly EUR 5.9 million.
The financing, which makes up about 50% of the total budget for the joint project, is for the development of ammonia as a hydrogen carrier for the energy market and is a component of Norway’s Green Platform portfolio of activities.
The goal of the project is to increase clean energy’s capacity for large-scale storage and delivery. In order to handle the transition away from fossil fuels, hydrogen is emerging as a promising future fuel. Due to its low volumetric energy density and possible high vaporisation losses, it is challenging to store and transport. Since it can be kept in liquid form at normal pressures and temperatures, ammonia is far more suitable for this use than hydrogen. The project’s goal is to make it possible for ammonia to be turned back into hydrogen at the place where it will be received.
Green ammonia
‘Green’ ammonia is created using hydrogen, nitrogen from the air, and electrolysis of water to serve as a carbon-neutral renewable energy carrier. When the energy is used, the significant emission reduction impact will show this green strategy. Compared to other options for the storage and transportation of renewable energy, green ammonia functions as a liquid battery with a high energy density. Through a fleet of petrol tankers with ammonia on the cargo list, the infrastructure for the large-scale transport of ammonia at sea already exists.
An ammonia-to-hydrogen conversion system will be created as part of this project and deployed on a Höegh LNG tanker. This will result in a solution with a lower overall cost, enhanced safety, and competitive hydrogen prices, as well as a floating receiving port that can be moved as needed while using the least amount of coastal land possible.
