In a development that represents another milestone in the development of lower-carbon energy solutions, the first shipment of independently certified low-carbon ammonia has arrived in Japan for use as fuel in power generation.
It’s the result of a multi-party collaboration across the low-carbon ammonia value chain. The ammonia was produced by SABIC Agri-Nutrients with feedstock from Aramco, and sold by Aramco Trading Company to the Fuji Oil Company.
Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) shipped the liquid from Saudi Arabia to Japan, and from there the low-carbon ammonia was transported to the Sodegaura Refinery for use in co-fired power generation, with technical support provided by Japan Oil Engineering Co.
Ammonia is categorised as low carbon because CO2 from the associated manufacturing process was captured and utilised in downstream applications.
Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry has announced plans to increasingly harness ammonia as a fuel for power generation and ship propulsion, as part of the country’s 2050 decarbonisation goals.
Olivier Thorel, Aramco senior vice president of chemicals, said the low-carbon ammonia was not only a means of transporting lower-carbon hydrogen, but was also an important energy source in its own right that could help decarbonise key sectors – including power generation for both utilities and industries.
MOL’s Toshiaki Tanaka, added that ammonia was expected to be in great demand as a next-generation, clean energy source.
