Production of green ammonia

Grüner Wasserstoff
© OCP
Green Ammonia project team in front of ammonia storage facilities in Morocco.

The production of "green" ammonia from renewable sources will be an important pillar of the future global economy. As a "Power-to-X" product, green ammonia contributes significantly to the coupling of various sectors, helping to create a stable renewable energy landscape.

Applications of ammonia – from fertilizer production to use as maritime fuel

Ammonia is needed in huge quantities for the production of fertilizers and chemicals. At the same time, it is an easily storable and transportable compound enabling export options from areas where regenerative energy is abundantly available. At the destination, ammonia can be used either as is or thermally decomposed to generate  hydrogen. Ammonia is also a very promising maritime fuel free of sulfur and carbon. Since 2020, several ship manufacturers started to gear up new cargo ocean liners with ammonia-fueled engines.

Green ammonia activities

Fraunhofer IGB has been working on green ammonia production as a future technology for several years.

For example, back in November 2018, the Green Ammonia project started on behalf of the Moroccan fertilizer manufacturer OCP and in collaboration with the Fraunhofer Institute for Microstructure of Materials and Systems IMWS, with a focus on evaluating new technologies for the sustainable production of ammonia.

Fraunhofer IGB's green ammonia production activities in Morocco and other countries are of strategic importance in the context of the political agenda in many regions of the world. In the advancing global energy transition, ammonia will play a significant role as a storable and transportable energy vector with an already existing infrastructure.