Proving that ammonia is a viable, cost-effective renewable fuel for large energy users off the mains gas grid
Project programme
Amburn Phase 2
The Amburn Consortium has been awarded a £3.4m grant for a “Phase 2” demonstration project, as part of the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero’s Industrial Fuel Switching Competition.
Amburn Phase 2 aims to trial a 1 MW scale ammonia-fed steam boiler at an industrial site. The planned demonstration will be ~4 weeks long, to prove the system works in continuous operation. This demonstration is expected to remove the remaining technical barriers associated with ammonia combustion and prove that the technology is viable as a means to decarbonise hard-to-abate sites, in line with the UK’s target to achieve net-zero by 2050.
Expected progress in Phase 2
Phase 2 will build upon the findings of the feasibility study to prove that the developed design works in an industrial setting. Key objectives include:
- Develop a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model for ammonia combustion
- Conduct a Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) of a prototype 1 MW system
- Develop a detailed design of an ammonia-fed steam boiler system at 1MW
- Demonstrate an ammonia-fed steam boiler system at a real customer site
- Share results of Amburn phase 2 with industrial players and off-grid customers
The Amburn partners believe ammonia boiler technology to be technically viable due to the successful lab scale tests in Phase 1. However, some technical challenges remain to be addressed in Phase 2:
Optimisation
As no testing has been done for the scaled system, there is uncertainty about the optimum operating conditions. A rigorous sequence of tests has been planned for the Phase 2 system, to scale the technology approximately two orders of magnitude higher than it is today (25-kW to 1 MW).
Automated control
For the commercial rollout, an automated control system must be developed that can be intuitively operated by users at the customer site.
Simplified design
Due to the first-of-a-kind nature of the project, the burner head is currently proposed to use 3D printed components (fabricated by Cardiff University) for the early-stage testing. A design more fit for commercialisation will be developed during Phase 2, in preparation for the wider rollout.
Hydrogen embrittlement
The Amburn design contains an integrated cracker which produces a hydrogen/ammonia mixture in the combustion chamber. Hydrogen embrittlement was identified as a potential problem on the combustion chamber walls. Resistant materials can be used for newbuilds; however, embrittlement might limit the possibility for retrofitting existing boilers to operate on ammonia. As retrofitting can be a low-cost decarbonisation option, the Amburn group intends to investigate the scale of this challenge. Further testing will occur in Phase 2, should embrittlement be found to be a key issue, including testing of various coatings to mitigate it.