Page 37 - Steel Tech India eMagazine Volume April 2022

VOL. 16 • NO. 3 • April 2022

governance and prudent capital allocation strategies, produce hydrogen, there are many issues in the on-
JSW energy continues to deliver sustainable growth, board use of ammonia similar to those identified for
and create value for all stakeholders. on-board fuel processors. Specifically, these include:
high operating temperature (>500° C); longevity and
JSW energy began commercial operations in 2000,
with the commissioning of its first 2x130 MW thermal reliability of catalysts and other components (at high
power plants at Vijayanagar, Karnataka. Since then, the temperatures and in the presence of impurities); start-
company has steadily enhanced its power generation up time (to get the system up to operating temperature);
capacity from 260 MW to 4,559 MW having a portfolio purification requirements (to prevent ammonia poisoning
of thermal 3,158 MW, hydel 1,391 MW & Solar 10 MW, of fuel cells); complexity of the overall system; energy
ensuring diversity in geographic presence, fuel sources efficiency (on-board ammonia would have to be burned
and power off-take arrangements. the company in the cracking process); cost (currently ~$100K for 1-3
is presently constructing various renewable power g h2/s stationary units); and reactor weight and volume
projects to the tune of 2.5 GW, with a vision to achieve (commercial units with sufficient throughput currently
a total power generation capacity of 20 GW by the weigh about 2000-5000 kg and are about 3000-6000
year 2030, when the share of renewables in the total liters in size). Simply stated, most of the performance
capacity will increase to ~ 85%. parameters of ammonia reactors would need at least
two orders-of-magnitude improvements in order to be
Potential Roles of Ammonia in a Hydrogen Economy used on-board commercially viable hydrogen-powered

the objectives of this paper are to identify, evaluate fuel cell vehicles.
and summarize the key issues and advantages and Due to the above reasons, DOe does not plan to
disadvantages associated with ammonia as an energy fund R&D to improve ammonia fuel processing
carrier for on-board vehicular hydrogen storage. technologies for use on board light weight vehicles at
these issues have been investigated by the U.S. the present time. however, a distinction may be made
Department of energy (DOe) with input from various between conventional fuel processing of ammonia
sources including members of the hydrogen Storage (e.g. high temperature, low efficiency, slow start-up/
technical team of the FreedomcAR& Fuel Partnership time response crackers) versus novel approaches to
(a partnership among DOe, BP America, chevron store ammonia and release its hydrogen content under
corporation, conocoPhillips, exxon Mobil corporation, conditions available on-board PeM fuel cell vehicles.
Shell hydrogen (U.S.), and the United States council As DOe’s current portfolio in hydrogen storage evolves,
for Automotive Research (UScAR- a legal partnership breakthrough approaches that allow the safe, efficient
among Daimlerchrysler corporation, Ford Motor and cost effective use of ammonia-based storage
company, and General Motors corporation). the may be considered at a future date. While this paper
outcome of this investigation is a discussion of the describes general advantages and disadvantages of
potential roles that ammonia might play in a hydrogen ammonia with a focus on on-board vehicular hydrogen
economy, particularly with regard to the viability of storage, the use of ammonia as a potential hydrogen
ammonia as an on-board hydrogen carrier for fuel cell carrier for hydrogen delivery or off-board hydrogen
vehicles. storage is currently under evaluation by the DOe and

Ammonia has a number of favorable attributes, the the FreedomcAR and Fuel Partnership’s hydrogen
primary one being its high capacity for hydrogen Delivery technical team.
storage, 17.6 wt.%, based on its molecular structure. the low volumetric energy density of hydrogen—
however, in order to release hydrogen from ammonia, in both compressed gas and liquid forms—makes
significant energy input as well as reactor mass and the storage of hydrogen a difficult problem for most
volume are required. Other considerations include applications. this limitation is felt most strongly in the
safety and toxicity issues, both actual and perceived, area of onboard storage, but it is also problematic in
as well as the incompatibility of polymer electrolyte the delivery and distribution of hydrogen. hydrogen’s
membrane (PeM) fuel cells in the presence of even low energy density is perhaps one of the greatest
trace levels of ammonia (> 0.1ppm). barriers to the implementation of hydrogen fueled fuel

Given the state of the art in ‘cracking’ ammonia to cell vehicles.
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