ARENHA project is making progress in the development of prototypes for the use of ammonia as a renewable energy carrier
Last updated on 19 August, 2024
Advanced materials and Reactors for ENergy storage tHrough Ammonia (ARENHA). This project has received funding from the European Union’s research and innovation programme Horizon 2020, under Grant Agreement number 862482
Today more than ever, States and societies are more aware of the need to look for healthy, sustainable and environmentally friendly alternatives to fossil fuel-based energies. In a context of global push and demand for renewables, its increase in the energy mix requires increased storage capatity to ensure continuity of supply and availability of a wide range of services.
In renewable energy production and utilisation processes, there are periods of high production and low demand in which storage capacities reach their maximum limits. When it is not possible to store and utilise this surplus energy, valuable energy is wasted and the integration of renewables into the energy mix is not efficient. In this context, Power to X technologies make it possible to store energy in large quantities and for long periods if necessary. Surplus energy, obtained from renewable sources, is converted into energy carriers, be they gases (hydrogen, methane, etc.), liquids and/or chemical products (methanol, ammonia, etc.), depending on the need for storage or application. We can consider energy carriers as those compounds that allow energy to be stored and transported for subsequent release. One of the most promising strategic energy carriers in the 21st century is ammonia of renewable origin.
Ammonia, composed of nitrogen and hydrogen, is an excellent energy carrier due to its high density, carbon-free composition, existing industrial know-how and relative ease of energy storage. In addition, the components involved in ammonia-based solutions reuse existing infrastructures, have the legal security of a defined legislation and have an industrial safety record going back more than 75 years.
However, in order to further develop materials and solutions for the optimal exploitation of ammonia as an energy carrier, major joint efforts are needed. The European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme, through projects such as ARENHA, is promoting the viability of ammonia as a form of large-scale energy storage. The ARENHA project (Advanced materials and Reactors for ENergy storage tHrough Ammonia) is being carried out by an international consortium of eleven organisations with extensive experience in the hydrogen value chain: Tecnalia, Eindhoven University of Technology, Spanish National Hydrogen Centre, Technical University of Denmark, Fraunhofer Institute of Ceramic Technologies and Systems, United Kingdom Research and Innovation, Proton Ventures, Elcogen, Hydrogen Onsite, Stellantis and ENGIE.
The ARENHA project aims to develop, integrate and demonstrate key solutions that enable the use of ammonia for safe, cost-effective and flexible energy storage. Alongside the development of innovative materials and concepts, ARENHA has among its main objectives the development of small prototypes for the production of green hydrogen, the synthesis of ammonia and the subsequent decomposition of ammonia into pure hydrogen. This hydrogen can be used for renewable energy generation in periods when electricity demand is very high, with excess renewable energy being stored in the form of ammonia in periods when demand is very low.
Prototypes are currently being finalised with a view to initiating and validating operation in the coming months. These advances are proof of the great efforts being made by the consortium partners and show that, through international collaboration, it is possible to achieve major industrial milestones, bringing us closer to a future in which the use of renewable energy can become widespread.
More info on https://arenha.eu/.
