Source: Energy & Management Powernews, August 25, 2022
Ammonia as a marine fuel takes the Institute for Climate Protection, Energy and Mobility (Ikem) in a study in the eye. Thus it wants to support the climaticneutral shipping.
A large part of the deep-sea, coastal and inland ships drives with heavy oil and diesel. Hydrogen, methanol and ammonia in particular are seen as climate-friendly substitute fuels. Which of these will prevail as a green fuel is still unclear. "For the shipping industry, the switch to climate-neutral fuels and propulsion systems is becoming an increasingly important issue," stresses Thomas Paintner. He has been a research associate at the Institute for Climate Protection, Energy and Mobility (Ikem) since January 2021. His work focuses on energy law with a focus on alternative fuels
Paintner, along with co-author Judith Schäfer, is an author of the study "Ammonia as a fuel in maritime and inland navigation" published on August 24. Like his research colleagues, he is certain that synthesized ammonia based on renewable energies could make a significant contribution to the decarbonization of shipping in the future.
Background: when ammonia is burned in engines or converted into electricity in fuel cells, only nitrogen and water vapor are produced, i.e., no soot particles or carbon dioxide, as is the case with diesel and heavy fuel oil. The small amount of nitrogen oxides produced in the combustion process can be converted back into nitrogen using established exhaust gas treatment processes.
In an overview paper published at the same time, the Ikem is particularly concerned with the requirements for the approval of ammonia-powered inland vessels on the one hand and for the necessary onshore infrastructure on the other. Paintner knows: "In order for ammonia to be used in shipping, a number of things still need to change: for example, in the technical infrastructure in ports."
Clear legal regulations called for
The scientist and the researcher also see a need for change in the legal regulations. Co-author Judith Schäfer explains, "The current legal framework primarily reflects the use of ammonia in the fertilizer industry. Clear legal frameworks are needed for the bunkering and delivery of ammonia as a marine fuel." Schäfer is a scientific officer at Ikem, where she has headed the department of energy law since the end of 2020.
With their study, Schäfer and Paintner provide an overview of legal issues relating to the use of ammonia as a marine fuel. For this purpose, the author and the author concisely present the legal situation and classify it with a view to the feasibility of its use.
The overview paper "Ammonia as Fuel in Maritime and Inland Shipping" is available on the Ikem website. The study can be requested separately. The study and the accompanying overview paper were developed in the joint project "Campfire". This project, financially supported by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, is concerned with the development of new processes for the decentralized production of ammonia from locally generated wind and solar power. Ikem is responsible for the accompanying legal research.
Ammonia as fuel
Ammonia as fuel Ammonia is already considered a feedstock for fertilizer production in agriculture. Its large-scale production using nitrogen (N2) from the air and hydrogen (H2) is therefore already mature. The chemical compound consists of one nitrogen atom and three hydrogen atoms: NH3. Hydrogen is considered a climate-neutral fuel, but it has the disadvantage that it requires a lot of space for storage or this space has to be reduced in an energy-intensive way: The gas is liquefied at minus 253 degrees Celcius or stored at a pressure of up to 700 bar.
Ammonia, on the other hand, is content with minus 33 degrees Celsius at normal pressure or 20 degrees Celsius at 9 bar for liquefaction, according to the Fraunhofer Institute for Microtechnology and Microsystems (IMM). Storage and transport of ammonia are therefore much easier.
However, the nitrogen atom means that the substance has pitfalls: When ammonia burns incompletely, nitrous oxide (N2O) can be produced. According to Fraunhofer, one kilo of nitrous oxide contributes 265 times more to the greenhouse effect than one kilo of carbon dioxide. Exhaust gas aftertreatment systems are necessary here.
Author: Davina Spohn
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