The Amburn project meets key milestone by passing first stage gate
On March 27th, the Amburn project team, consisting of Cardiff University, Flogas and ERM, met alongside
the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero at Cardiff University to conduct a site visit and the first
stage gate meeting. During this meeting, the team showcased the state-of-the-art testing facility,
presented project advancements, and outlined plans to progress through the next phases to reach project
objectives. Following a productive meeting, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero at Cardiff
University confirmed the project has successfully passed stage gate 1.
The successful completion of stage gate 1 is a result ofthe significant work done behind the scenes. Cardiff
University’s School of Engineering is leading the technical work, focusing initially on conducting lab-scale
testing at 25kW, before getting the facility ready for stage 1 testing at Cardiff, which will test the burner
at 300-500kW. This has involved collaborative efforts with Flogas to install pipework, the development of
successful computational fluid dynamic (CFD) models of the burner with Poznan University of Technology,
and strict compliance to health and safety standards on site. The Amburn project has also successfully
contributed to new academic literatures, with publications featured in the esteemed PROCI and ASME
conferences.
In parallel to conducting stage 1 testing at Cardiff University, in the coming months the Amburn team will
prepare for stage 2 testing, which will test the ammonia steam boiler at 1MW. By March 2025, the project
aims to demonstrate the world’s first ammonia steam boiler at 1MW power at a site belonging to a
customer of Flogas, validating the potential of this innovative technology to drive industrial scale
decarbonisation for off-grid businesses in the UK
Dr Syed Mashruk, lecturer and technical lead at Cardiff University said “We’ve undertaken a huge amount
of work to get to this stage and it’s been a superb effort by all involved. We’re now looking forward to the
next stage of the project which we’ll lead in Cardiff, and which will be a significant part of our journey to
produce a boiler that is fit for commercialisation and fuelled only by clean ammonia”.
James Rudman, Director at Flogas, said “Flogas is thrilled that the Amburn project has passed stage gate
1 and is progressing with stage 1 testing at Cardiff University. Congratulations must be extended to
everyone involved; this is a world first and the result of several years of research and development. Our
purpose at Flogas is to ‘do energy right by you’. This project is a prime example of that commitment. This
solution will provide businesses with high power needs in difficult-to-serve locations with reliable, low
emission energy solutions. We are excited to see this project’s positive impact on our customers and the
environment.”
Michael Dolman, Partner at ERM, said “We are pleased that Amburn has passed this significant milestone
and that the project is progressing well towards the large-scale demonstration of the ammonia-fuelled
steam boiler. Having supported the Amburn project since the feasibility study in Phase 1, we are proud to
contribute to this innovative project which offers great potential to help decarbonise industry.”
You can find the full press release here.
