Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電) on Thursday signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Japan’s IHI Corp and Sumitomo Corp for a pilot project that would use ammonia co-firing at its Talin Thermal Power Plant in Kaohsiung, which would account for 5 percent of its power generation.
The project aims to achieve 5 percent ammonia co-firing at the coal-fired plant by 2030, Taipower vice president Cheng Ching-hung (鄭慶鴻) said at the signing event in Taipei.
This would reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 9,000 tonnes per year, equivalent to about 23 Daan Forest Parks in Taipei, he added.
Photo: CNA
As ammonia firing does not generate carbon dioxide and the chemical can be stored in liquid form at minus-33°C, it has the potential to become a green fuel that can be efficiently transported and stored, Taipower said.
As Taipower pursues its net zero emissions by 2050 goal, it has been scaling up the ratio of power generation by renewable energy, but decarbonization in thermal power generation is also crucial, Cheng said.
Other than ammonia co-firing technology, he said that a pilot project involving gas-fired hydrogen blending for power generation is also being undertaken at Hsinta Power Plant in Kaohsiung, and a carbon capture and storage system has been installed at Taichung Power Plant.
The two Japanese corporations were also involved in the construction of two new power generation units — ultra-supercritical pressure coal-fired boilers — at Talin Power Plant which were completed in 2018.
“The units’ carbon emissions are already low, and additional technical cooperation with IHI and Sumitomo would help further develop decarbonizing technologies,” Cheng said.
Also at the signing ceremony were Yukihisa Ozawa, vice president of IHI’s resources, energy and environment business, and Seiji Kitajima, director of the energy innovation initiative at Sumitomo Corp.
Ozawa said IHI has successfully implemented small-scale ammonia co-firing in Japan and Indonesia, and is expected to use the experience to contribute to the realization of Taiwan’s net zero goal.
Kitajima said that Sumitomo has in recent years been working on building ammonia supply chains and ammonia-fueled ships, and as part of the pilot project, the company will install Japan’s ammonia-receiving and supply system at the Talin plant.
Asked about local ammonia supply, Cheng told reporters that as Taiwan has insufficient supply and relies on imports, the focus of the pilot project would be on co-firing technology and retrofitting the plants.
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