Academics from Cranfield University are helping to develop the case for using ammonia as a hydrogen carrier which is then ‘cracked’ to create hydrogen fuel for use in cement kilns. Working with Stopford and Heidelberg Materials UK, the 12-month industry-academia collaboration is funded by Innovate UK through the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Future Economy Net Zero Programme.
The UK's net zero strategy for decarbonisation requires all sectors of the UK economy to meet the net zero target by 2050. The UK's concrete and cement industry produced 7.3 million tonnes of CO2 emissions in 2018 and currently accounts for around 1.5% of the UK's total CO2 emissions. Fuel switching to low-carbon fuels in this sector could potentially reduce emissions by 16%. And although the cement industry has made significant progress with fuel switching to hydrogen, with previous studies demonstrating technical feasibility, the storage and transportation of hydrogen is technically challenging, and hydrogen fuel costs are prohibitive.
Ammonia as low-cost, low-carbon hydrogen carrier
This project will assess the use of ammonia as a low-cost, low-carbon hydrogen carrier, evaluating the most economical method of on-site ammonia cracking to generate hydrogen for use in kilns in the cement industry. Ammonia is already in widespread use so there are existing infrastructures and protocols in place to ensure it is stored and transported safely – one of the key challenges for hydrogen adoption.
Once transported to site, the ammonia would be put through a new autothermal process, designed in collaboration with Stopford and Heidelberg Materials UK, with Cranfield leading the computational design of the new autothermal process to release the hydrogen fuel, which would be used immediately in the site furnaces to manufacture cement. The project focuses on the feasibility of the technology and the supply chain – but has the potential to make hydrogen use available and economically viable on sites across the UK.
The consortium will design the ammonia ‘cracker’ and analyse the ammonia supply chain to help develop a toolkit for widespread use.
The academic aspect of the project is led by Dr Mingming Zhu, Senior Lecturer in Chemical Engineering in the Centre for Renewable and Low Carbon Energy at Cranfield. Dr Zhu said: “This project will bring us another step closer to enabling manufacturing operations to use hydrogen fuel, helping to decarbonise industry. Although there are clear challenges with making hydrogen feasible for industrial use, innovative collaborations such as this will certainly move us closer to widespread adoption.”
Deb Pal, Stopford’s Consultancy Director, said: “Ammonia is rapidly being considered the most promising hydrogen vector for global energy markets, I am looking forward to working with our project partners to spearhead innovation in the cement industry and help to accelerate the adoption of hydrogen by other UK industries”.
Marian Garfield, Heidelberg Materials UK Sustainability Director said: “At Heidelberg we are committed to building a sustainable future, driving business and product innovation. If the project proves economically viable, Heidelberg plan to adopt the scheme to supply hydrogen to our UK cement kilns”.
