UCL Discovery
UCL home » Library Services » Electronic resources » UCL Discovery

Techno-economic viability of islanded green ammonia as a carbon-free energy vector and as a substitute for conventional production

Nayak-Luke, RM; Banares-Alcantara, R; (2020) Techno-economic viability of islanded green ammonia as a carbon-free energy vector and as a substitute for conventional production. Energy & Environmental Science , 13 (9) pp. 2957-2966. 10.1039/d0ee01707h. Green open access

[thumbnail of NayakLuke_et_al_2020_EES.pdf]
Preview
Text
NayakLuke_et_al_2020_EES.pdf - Published Version

Download (4MB) | Preview

Abstract

Decarbonising ammonia production is an environmental imperative given that it independently accounts for 1.8% of global carbon dioxide emissions and supports the feeding of over 48% of the global population. The recent decline of production costs and its potential as an energy vector warrant investigation of whether green ammonia production is commercially competitive. Considering 534 locations in 70 countries and designing and operating the islanded production process to minimise the levelised cost of ammonia (LCOA) at each, we show the range of achievable LCOA, the cost of process flexibility, the components of LCOA, and therein the scope of LCOA reduction achievable at present and in 2030. These results are benchmarked against ammonia spot prices, cost per GJ of refined fuels and the LCOE of alternative energy storage methods. Currently a LCOA of $473 t^{-1} is achievable, at the best locations the required process flexibility increases the achievable LCOA by 56%; the electrolyser CAPEX and operation are the most significant costs. By 2030, $310 t^{-1} is predicted to be achievable with multiple locations below $350 t^{−1}. At $25.4 GJ^{−1} currently and $16.6 GJ^{−1} by 2030 prior combustion, this compares favourably against other refined fuels such as kerosene ($8.7–18.3 GJ^{−1}) that do not have the benefit of being carbon-free.

Type: Article
Title: Techno-economic viability of islanded green ammonia as a carbon-free energy vector and as a substitute for conventional production
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1039/d0ee01707h
Publisher version: https://doi.org/10.1039/D0EE01707H
Language: English
Additional information: © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2020. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported Licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/).
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science > Dept of Chemical Engineering
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10132887
Downloads since deposit
75Downloads
Download activity - last month
Download activity - last 12 months
Downloads by country - last 12 months

Archive Staff Only

View Item View Item