Techno-economic analysis of ammonia decomposition for large-scale hydrogen production

Abstract

In the transition towards a renewable energy-powered industrial sector in the Netherlands, hydrogen plays a pivotal role. The anticipated increase in hydrogen demand by 2030 is projected to exceed the anticipated capacity of domestic green hydrogen production, hindered by the high costs and fluctuations of local renewable electricity generation. To address the growing demand, the consideration of importing more cost-effective green hydrogen is regarded as an appealing option. Storing and transporting hydrogen as green ammonia emerges as a compelling choice for hydrogen importation, given high volumetric hydrogen density of ammonia, coupled with its effective storage and well-established infrastructure. An essential element in the importation of hydrogen through green ammonia lies in the decomposition of green ammonia back into hydrogen.

This research evaluates the techno-economic feasibility of hydrogen production using an ammonia cracking process plant in the context of the Netherlands. Two process plant configurations were developed and evaluated on their performance. Both of the plants are set to generate 100 TPD of hydrogen at 50 bar pressure for the Dutch hydrogen grid. The first configuration is designed for the ammonia-to-hydrogen process plant using existing technologies applicable on a large scale by 2030, with a particular focus on the ammonia cracking reactor configuration as the central component. The second configuration is formulated based on the emerging technology of employing the membrane-assisted reactor for ammonia decomposition and is used for comparison with the existing technology configuration in the context of the year 2040.

Economic evaluation of both configurations indicates that the Levelized Cost of Hydrogen (LCOH) derived from green ammonia is primarily driven by the market price of green ammonia. Evaluating the conventional technology at 2030 market predictions, it is established that hydrogen production from imported green ammonia can compete with domestic green hydrogen production and potentially emerge as the most cost-effective option for green hydrogen import if optimistic predictions regarding green ammonia costs materialize. In comparing the conventional and emerging technology configurations for LCOH by 2040, it was determined that the membrane-assisted reactor configuration does not significantly outperform the conventional technology, even when considering the most optimistic scenarios regarding the robustness and scalability of this emerging technology.