Japan’s government embracing ammonia as fuel of the future in zero-carbon emissions drive

LONDON (ICIS)–The Japanese government on Tuesday held the inaugural meeting of a special council (committee) to explore and promote the use of ammonia as a fuel as part of a nationwide push to greener technology.

Established as part of the country’s zero carbon emissions strategy, the council’s first sitting came just weeks after Japan received the world’s first ever cargo of blue ammonia that involved carbon capture.

At the meeting in Tokyo attended by representatives from chemicals and fertilizers trading houses and staff from engineering and shipping firms, officials pledged to explore ways to boost ammonia imports, local media disclosed.

Material released ahead of the gathering was not immediately available in English, but one document noted “ammonia can be stably burned in the boiler of coal-fired power generation equipment”.

Traditional ammonia production processes are energy intensive, meaning availability to natural gas resources is key, hence why leading producer and exporter nations include Trinidad, Saudi Arabia, Russia, and Indonesia.

If all Japan’s coal thermal power plants used ammonia for just 20% of their feedstock requirements, then annual demand from that part of the power sector alone would be 20m tonnes – roughly the total volume of today’s global seaborne ammonia market, local media covering the meeting said.

Japan is expected to become a major importer of ammonia and/or hydrogen over the next decade, having already expressed a strong interest in shipping environmentally friendly material from Australia.

Last month, Japan took delivery of world’s first ever cargo of blue ammonia, with Saudi energy titan Aramco sending 40 tonnes to the island nation for zero-carbon power generation.

Aramco partnered up with the Institute of Energy Economics, Japan (IEEJ) and SABIC for the ground-breaking development, with support from the Japanese Ministry of Economy Trade and Industry (METI).

Earlier this month, Japan’s largest power generator, JERA,  unveiled plans to shut all inefficient coal-fired plants by 2030 and use greener fuels such as ammonia and hydrogen in its various thermal power plants.

Thermal power generation using fossil fuels accounts for about 80% of Japan’s electricity demand, but about 40% of its total CO2 emissions, JERA said.