Gas Turbines

Mitsubishi says it successfully tested an ammonia single-fuel burner

MHI says it conducted a single-fuel burner test using an ammonia burner, and a high-ratio ammonia co-firing test with coal. In both cases, MHI said the tests confirmed stable combustion, reduced nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions compared to coal firing, and complete combustion of the ammonia.
Mitsubishi says it successfully tested an ammonia single-fuel burner
Ammonia combustion test equipment (0.5t/h furnace) (Credit: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries)

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) said it successfully completed a combustion test of an ammonia single-fuel burner as part of its development of ammonia utilization technology for thermal power generation boilers.

The testing was conducted using combustion test equipment at the Nagasaki District Research & Innovation Center in Nagasaki, the company said. Utilizing a combustion test furnace with a fuel consumption of 0.5 tons per hour (t/h), MHI says it conducted a single-fuel burner test using an ammonia burner, and a high-ratio ammonia co-firing test with coal. In both cases, MHI said the tests confirmed stable combustion, reduced nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions compared to coal firing, and complete combustion of the ammonia.

Mitsubishi Power is developing its H-25 gas turbine that would be fueled 100 percent by ammonia, and the company hopes to bring it to commercialization by 2025.

In addition to its role as an energy carrier allowing transport and storage of hydrogen energy at low cost, ammonia can be used directly as a fuel for thermal power generation, and because it does not emit CO2 during combustion, is expected to contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.

A challenge needing to be addressed with direct combustion of ammonia is the production of nitrogen oxide (NOx) caused by oxidation resulting from the combustion of the nitrogen component of the fuel. Mitsubishi Power said it is aiming to resolve this issue through the commercialization of a gas turbine system that combines selective catalytic reduction with a newly developed combustor that reduces NOx emissions, for installation in the Company’s H-25 Series gas turbines.

As a next step, MHI plans to conduct a combustion test using an actual-sized burner in a larger 4t/h combustion test furnace. Based on these results, MHI will then take steps for the application of the burner it has developed for thermal power plants in Japan and overseas.

Since fiscal 2021, MHI has been pursuing “development and demonstration of high-ratio ammonia co-firing technology in coal-fired boilers” as part of the Fuel Ammonia Supply Chain Establishment project conducted by the Green Innovation Fund Project of the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO). This combustion test is part of that project, and by fiscal 2024, MHI says it plans to develop burners capable of ammonia single-fuel firing for both circular firing and opposed firing type burners.

The Nagasaki District Research & Innovation Center, where the test was conducted, is located in Nagasaki Carbon Neutral Park, MHI Group’s development base for energy decarbonization technologies that commenced operations in August this year. With the success of this combustion test, MHI is accelerating the development of related technologies for practical application in thermal power generation boilers in Japan and overseas.

Last year, Mitsubishi announced plans to research ammonia-based power generation in Indonesia and Singapore.

Mitsubishi Power and Indonesia’s Institut Teknologi Bandung (ITB) plan to research firing ammonia in gas turbines under a new agreement. The collaboration between Mitsubishi Power and ITB stems from a 2020 agreement to study next-generation clean energy solutions at power plants. Research and development of ammonia-fired power generation will be conducted at ITB facilities.

Mitsubishi Power said the aims of the partnership include promoting technology development between Japan and Indonesia and advancing the adoption of clean energies in Indonesia. It also aims to reduce the country’s use of coal.

In a separate collaborative agreement with Keppel Energy, Mitsubishi Power plans to explore the possibility of a 100% ammonia-fired gas turbine on Jurong Island, Singapore. This follows an announcement in August 2022 that Keppel would develop Singapore’s first hydrogen-ready power plant in the Sakra sector of the island, constructed by a consortium including Mitsubishi Power and Jurong Engineering.

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