Japan's JERA to advance 20% ammonia co-firing at Hekinan by a year to FY 2023-24 - trafficnews.jp

Japan's largest power generation company JERA said May 31 it will advance by about a year to start in fiscal year 2023-24 (April-March) 20% co-firing of ammonia at the 1 GW No. 1 coal-fired unit at the 4.1 GW Hekinan thermal power plant in central Japan as part of its pilot project, according to trafficnews.jp.

The advancement of the 20% coal-firing at the Hekinan No. 4 unit comes as a result of making steady progress in its demonstration project with IHI with a grant from the state-owned New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization, JERA said.

JERA is in the middle of 20% co-firing of ammonia at its No. 4 Hekinan coal-fired unit under a NEDO-funded project, under which it had earlier planned to procure 30,000-40,000 mt of ammonia by FY 2024-25.

JERA now plans to procure 30,000-40,000 mt of ammonia for the 20% co-burning demonstration at the Hekinan No. 4 unit starting in March 2024, a company spokesperson said May 31.

JERA is working on a project to demonstrate the use of fuel ammonia at the Hekinan thermal power plant, aiming to switch 20% of the fuel at the No. 4 coal-fired unit to ammonia by the late 2020s.

In January, JERA said it plans to start co-burning more than 50% of ammonia together with coal at its Hekinan thermal power plant in central Japan by FY 2028-29 following the completion of a pilot project.

JERA, which has secured another grant from NEDO, with IHI, will develop a new ammonia co-firing burner and install it at its Hekinan No. 4 or No. 5 coal-fired units, each with a 1 GW capacity to raise co-burning volumes of ammonia to more than 50% during an eight-year project to FY 2028-29.

JERA has pledged to commercialize its ammonia co-burning power generation by 2030 as part of its aim to start using 100% ammonia as a fuel in the 2040s for its 2050 carbon neutrality target.

Japan sees great potential in fuel ammonia as a CO2 zero-emission fuel as the country aims to cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 46% by FY 2030-31 from the FY 2013-14 level and achieve 2050 carbon neutrality.

Japan currently estimates ammonia demand for power generation at 3 million mt/year in 2030 and expects it to grow to 30 million mt/year in 2050, equivalent to 1.5 times the current international trade of ammonia as a fertilizer, according to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

Under the Strategic Energy Plan formulated in October, Japan intends to introduce 1% of hydrogen/ammonia in its power generation fuel mix by FY 2030-31, when it also aims to introduce 30% co-burning of hydrogen at gas-fired power plants or mono-burning of hydrogen for power generation, as well as 20% co-burning of ammonia at coal-fired power plants.