IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jeners/v16y2023i17p6192-d1225505.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Potential Role of Ammonia for Hydrogen Storage and Transport: A Critical Review of Challenges and Opportunities

Author

Listed:
  • Viviana Negro

    (Department of Energy, Politecnico di Torino, 10129 Turin, Italy)

  • Michel Noussan

    (Department of Energy, Politecnico di Torino, 10129 Turin, Italy)

  • David Chiaramonti

    (Department of Energy, Politecnico di Torino, 10129 Turin, Italy)

Abstract

Hydrogen is being included in several decarbonization strategies as a potential contributor in some hard-to-abate applications. Among other challenges, hydrogen storage represents a critical aspect to be addressed, either for stationary storage or for transporting hydrogen over long distances. Ammonia is being proposed as a potential solution for hydrogen storage, as it allows storing hydrogen as a liquid chemical component at mild conditions. Nevertheless, the use of ammonia instead of pure hydrogen faces some challenges, including the health and environmental issues of handling ammonia and the competition with other markets, such as the fertilizer market. In addition, the technical and economic efficiency of single steps, such as ammonia production by means of the Haber–Bosch process, ammonia distribution and storage, and possibly the ammonia cracking process to hydrogen, affects the overall supply chain. The main purpose of this review paper is to shed light on the main aspects related to the use of ammonia as a hydrogen energy carrier, discussing technical, economic and environmental perspectives, with the aim of supporting the international debate on the potential role of ammonia in supporting the development of hydrogen pathways. The analysis also compares ammonia with alternative solutions for the long-distance transport of hydrogen, including liquefied hydrogen and other liquid organic carriers such as methanol.

Suggested Citation

  • Viviana Negro & Michel Noussan & David Chiaramonti, 2023. "The Potential Role of Ammonia for Hydrogen Storage and Transport: A Critical Review of Challenges and Opportunities," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(17), pages 1-19, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:16:y:2023:i:17:p:6192-:d:1225505
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/16/17/6192/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/16/17/6192/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Reuß, M. & Grube, T. & Robinius, M. & Preuster, P. & Wasserscheid, P. & Stolten, D., 2017. "Seasonal storage and alternative carriers: A flexible hydrogen supply chain model," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 200(C), pages 290-302.
    2. Cesaro, Zac & Ives, Matthew & Nayak-Luke, Richard & Mason, Mike & Bañares-Alcántara, René, 2021. "Ammonia to power: Forecasting the levelized cost of electricity from green ammonia in large-scale power plants," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 282(PA).
    3. Muhammad Aziz & Agung Tri Wijayanta & Asep Bayu Dani Nandiyanto, 2020. "Ammonia as Effective Hydrogen Storage: A Review on Production, Storage and Utilization," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-25, June.
    4. Andrea J. Boero & Kevin Kardux & Marina Kovaleva & Daniel A. Salas & Jacco Mooijer & Syed Mashruk & Michael Townsend & Kevin Rouwenhorst & Agustin Valera-Medina & Angel D. Ramirez, 2021. "Environmental Life Cycle Assessment of Ammonia-Based Electricity," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(20), pages 1-20, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Khusniddin Alikulov & Zarif Aminov & La Hoang Anh & Tran Dang Xuan & Wookyung Kim, 2024. "Comparative Technical and Economic Analyses of Hydrogen-Based Steel and Power Sectors," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(5), pages 1-30, March.
    2. Julián Gómez & Rui Castro, 2024. "Green Hydrogen Energy Systems: A Review on Their Contribution to a Renewable Energy System," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(13), pages 1-41, June.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Egerer, Jonas & Grimm, Veronika & Niazmand, Kiana & Runge, Philipp, 2023. "The economics of global green ammonia trade – “Shipping Australian wind and sunshine to Germany”," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 334(C).
    2. Park, Chybyung & Jeong, Byongug & Zhou, Peilin, 2022. "Lifecycle energy solution of the electric propulsion ship with Live-Life cycle assessment for clean maritime economy," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 328(C).
    3. Marina Pinzón & Paula Sánchez & Ana Raquel de la Osa & Amaya Romero & Antonio de Lucas-Consuegra, 2022. "Recent Insights into Low-Surface-Area Catalysts for Hydrogen Production from Ammonia," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(21), pages 1-25, November.
    4. Kenichiro Takeishi, 2022. "Evolution of Turbine Cooled Vanes and Blades Applied for Large Industrial Gas Turbines and Its Trend toward Carbon Neutrality," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(23), pages 1-35, November.
    5. Rafael Estevez & Francisco J. López-Tenllado & Laura Aguado-Deblas & Felipa M. Bautista & Antonio A. Romero & Diego Luna, 2023. "Current Research on Green Ammonia (NH 3 ) as a Potential Vector Energy for Power Storage and Engine Fuels: A Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(14), pages 1-33, July.
    6. Hren, Robert & Vujanović, Annamaria & Van Fan, Yee & Klemeš, Jiří Jaromír & Krajnc, Damjan & Čuček, Lidija, 2023. "Hydrogen production, storage and transport for renewable energy and chemicals: An environmental footprint assessment," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 173(C).
    7. Joakim Andersson, 2021. "Application of Liquid Hydrogen Carriers in Hydrogen Steelmaking," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-26, March.
    8. Hookyung Lee & Min-Jung Lee, 2021. "Recent Advances in Ammonia Combustion Technology in Thermal Power Generation System for Carbon Emission Reduction," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(18), pages 1-29, September.
    9. Sagel, Victor N. & Rouwenhorst, Kevin H.R. & Faria, Jimmy A., 2022. "Green ammonia enables sustainable energy production in small island developing states: A case study on the island of Curaçao," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 161(C).
    10. Li, Yanfei & Taghizadeh-Hesary, Farhad, 2022. "The economic feasibility of green hydrogen and fuel cell electric vehicles for road transport in China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 160(C).
    11. Kolb, Sebastian & Plankenbühler, Thomas & Frank, Jonas & Dettelbacher, Johannes & Ludwig, Ralf & Karl, Jürgen & Dillig, Marius, 2021. "Scenarios for the integration of renewable gases into the German natural gas market – A simulation-based optimisation approach," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 139(C).
    12. Jiwon Yu & Young Jae Han & Hyewon Yang & Sugil Lee & Gildong Kim & Chulung Lee, 2022. "Promising Technology Analysis and Patent Roadmap Development in the Hydrogen Supply Chain," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(21), pages 1-20, October.
    13. Ives, Matthew & Cesaro, Zac & Bramstoft, Rasmus & Bañares-Alcántara, René, 2023. "Facilitating deep decarbonization via sector coupling of green hydrogen and ammonia," INET Oxford Working Papers 2023-04, Institute for New Economic Thinking at the Oxford Martin School, University of Oxford.
    14. Abdulrahman Joubi & Yutaro Akimoto & Keiichi Okajima, 2022. "A Production and Delivery Model of Hydrogen from Solar Thermal Energy in the United Arab Emirates," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-14, May.
    15. Hong, Sanghyun & Kim, Eunsung & Jeong, Saerok, 2023. "Evaluating the sustainability of the hydrogen economy using multi-criteria decision-making analysis in Korea," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 204(C), pages 485-492.
    16. Liu, Hailiang & Brown, Tom & Andresen, Gorm Bruun & Schlachtberger, David P. & Greiner, Martin, 2019. "The role of hydro power, storage and transmission in the decarbonization of the Chinese power system," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 239(C), pages 1308-1321.
    17. Wang, Jianxiao & An, Qi & Zhao, Yue & Pan, Guangsheng & Song, Jie & Hu, Qinran & Tan, Chin-Woo, 2023. "Role of electrolytic hydrogen in smart city decarbonization in China," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 336(C).
    18. Lopez, Gabriel & Galimova, Tansu & Fasihi, Mahdi & Bogdanov, Dmitrii & Breyer, Christian, 2023. "Towards defossilised steel: Supply chain options for a green European steel industry," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 273(C).
    19. Michel Noussan & Pier Paolo Raimondi & Rossana Scita & Manfred Hafner, 2020. "The Role of Green and Blue Hydrogen in the Energy Transition—A Technological and Geopolitical Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(1), pages 1-26, December.
    20. Stefan Arens & Sunke Schlüters & Benedikt Hanke & Karsten von Maydell & Carsten Agert, 2020. "Sustainable Residential Energy Supply: A Literature Review-Based Morphological Analysis," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-28, January.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:16:y:2023:i:17:p:6192-:d:1225505. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.