IHI Corporation (IHI) and GE Vernova have announced successful testing of 100% ammonia combustion at IHI’s test facility, engineered to replicate GE Vernova’s F-class gas turbine operating conditions.
The project is linked to a potential move from gas to hydrogen as a fuel for power generation. In this option, so-called ‘green’ hydrogen made by electrolysis of water (other route that does not result in carbon dioxide emissions) would replace fossil gas in power generation. However, new routes and technologies would be required to ship the hydrogen but there are already mature global technologies and routes for ammonia, because it is used to make fertilizer and if the hydrogen was converted to ammonia (made up of nitrogen and hydrogen) it could use those routes. Using ammonia directly in power generation would be more efficient than extracting the hydrogen first.
Noriaki Ozawa, IHI Managing Executive Officer and President of Resource, Energy & Environment Business Area, said “The successful achievement of 100% ammonia combustion in a full-scale F-class gas turbine marks a major milestone and helps reinforce the decarbonization roadmap envisioned by our customers in the power sector.”
“The successful demonstration of running an F class gas turbine on 100% ammonia fuel marks a pivotal step in our journey toward a lower carbon energy future,” said Jeremee Wetherby, GE Vernova’s Carbon Solutions leader. He added, “We see significant potential for ammonia as a carbon free combustion fuel and are energized to continue working together to help unlock its role in advancing global decarbonisation.”