IHI, Petronas, TNB Collaborate on Ammonia Co-Firing Technology for a Carbon-Free Ammonia Supply Chain

November 2021

IHI Corporation, a Japan-based heavy-industry manufacturer, has signed an agreement with Malaysia’s state-owned energy firm Petronas and the largest electricity utility in the country Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) to study the use of ammonia at coal power plants and the production of ammonia in Southeast Asia.

The project focuses on examining technologies and economics across the whole supply chain, including producing green ammonia from renewable energy sources and blue ammonia from natural gas. It also looks at analyzing technology for co-firing ammonia at coal power plants in Malaysia. It plans to conduct a technical evaluation of an ammonia-biomass co-firing project in an ultra-supercritical coal-fired thermal power station in Malaysia and conduct a development survey in the region until February 2022.

Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) awarded IHI a grant on the overseas deployment of high-quality infrastructure, which led to the agreement. The agreement was signed by Petronas’s clean energy subsidiary, PETRONAS Gas & New Energy Sdn. Bhd and TNB’s power plants operator, TNB Power Generation Sdn Bhd (TNB Genco).

The partnership will see IHI play a key role in providing Malaysia with coal-fired boilers and performing technical and economic assessments in the development of ammonia combustion technology. Meanwhile, Petronas will leverage its experience as an international energy producer to support renewable energy and low-carbon hydrogen policy research. TNB Genco, which is currently in charge of 53% of Malaysia’s power, will assist in the application of ammonia co-firing technology at local coal power stations.

(Sources: IHI; The Star)

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