Energy Efficiency, Energy Storage, Industrial  -  June 19, 2018

Siemens tests ammonia for green energy storage

Siemens, the German industrial firm, is piloting a project that uses ammonia as a new form of energy storage. The company hopes to prove that ammonia can be as useful as more established storage technologies, such as lithium-ion batteries, when it comes to managing the variable output of wind and solar power.

The project is running in the U.K and is budgeted at £1.5 million (almost $2 million U.S.). A report in Business Green explains that “the proof-of-concept facility at Harwell will turn electricity, water, and air into ammonia without releasing carbon emissions. The ammonia is stored in a tank and later either burned to generate electricity, sold as a fuel for vehicles or for industrial purposes, such as refrigeration.”

Dr Ian Wilkinson, programme manager for Siemens' green ammonia demonstrator, said: "Storage is recognised as the enabler for intermittent renewable power," Said Dr. Ian Wilkinson, program manager for Siemens’ green ammonia demonstrator, adding, "This is where we're different from usual storage, we're not just looking at power. Usually, it's [storage] just filling in the gaps when the sun's not shining and the wind is not blowing. We're looking at other uses, mobility and industrial uses."

The report noted that Siemens expects the trial, which is relatively small in terms of storage and power generation capacity, will establish that the concept can work and prove useful. If it works, the company stands to profit, Business Green noted," as it makes the electrolyzers, which use electricity to split water into oxygen, and the hydrogen that is a building block of ammonia."

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