The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and a council of domestic companies are planning to use ammonia as a next-generation fuel for "decarbonization" in 2030, aiming to use 3 million tons per year as fuel for thermal power plants. I summarized it.
Ammonia produced from natural gas, etc. is rarely used as fuel because it emits nitrogen oxides with the current technology, but it does not emit carbon dioxide even when burned, and it is easy to transport. Due to its low procurement cost, the government has positioned it as a next-generation fuel for “decarbonization” along with hydrogen.
On the 8th, a council was held between the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and domestic electric power companies and machinery manufacturers to utilize ammonia as a fuel, and a concrete plan for expanding its use was put together.
According to this, we will develop a "co-firing" technology that mixes ammonia with coal as fuel for thermal power generation, aiming to use 3 million tons per year in 2030.
Furthermore, by 2050, the technology to generate electricity using only ammonia without using coal will be put into practical use, and its use will be expanded to 30 million tons per year.
In addition, the policy is to promote the construction of natural gas producing countries and supply networks such as the United States and the Middle East in order to secure a stable supply.
The government wants to be the first in the world to realize the use of ammonia as a fuel by utilizing the 2 trillion yen fund created to support the private sector's efforts toward decarbonization.