Schneider ElectricTM Sustainability Research Institute, Towards New Energy Systems and Process Electrification: Optimizing Renewable Energy Integration and Grid Costs for Electrified Ammonia Production
Driving the Transition to Sustainable Ammonia Production through Advanced Techno-Economic Analysis
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By Thomas Kwan
By integrating and optimizing new energy systems, ammonia production costs can be significantly reduced, even with high variability in grid energy costs and the intermittent nature of renewable energy.
Driving the Transition to Sustainable Ammonia Production through Advanced Techno-Economic Analysis
The global energy transition and the urgent need to decarbonize the chemicals industry have brought renewed focus on the potential of electrified ammonia production (e-ammonia) as a pathway to sustainable, low-carbon ammonia.
This study is a comprehensive techno-economic analysis, based on a novel modeling approach and extensive sensitivity analysis.
Our research has significant implications for the agriculture and chemical sectors, suggesting that integrating onsite renewable energy and smart control systems can enhance the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of ammonia production, providing a promising avenue for cost savings in chemical production.
Our findings
This study combines systems approach, the integration of digital and electrification technologies, and the comprehensive optimization of the entire production process to achieve the lowest possible costs and highest efficiency. Furthermore, it extensively modeled different cost structures from the grid.
- Integration of Renewable Energy and Advanced Process Controls
The study demonstrates that integrating renewable energy sources and advanced process controls can significantly reduce ammonia production costs from electrified processes (e-ammonia). - Reliability through Process Electrification and Digital Technologies
Smart and flexible production systems that can adapt to grid pricing fluctuations and weather variations (e.g., solar PV and wind energy) can be an advantage. Proper optimization through electrification and digital technologies unlocks these benefits. - The importance of hydrogen storage
Hydrogen storage (a.k.a. hydrogen buffering) is essential in e-ammonia production and cost optimization. It can be used as a seasonal or highly cyclic buffer depending on the energy mix and costs, adapting to system conditions (when smartly managed/controlled, see point 2 above). - Significant reduction of emissions
Emissions from e-ammonia production are dependent on the grid's emission factor; however, increased reliance on on-site renewables significantly reduces the associated emissions for producing e-ammonia. When produced with 100% renewable energy, the process is virtually free of emissions.
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