- Recently, a seminar on Production & Use of Green Hydrogen and Green Ammonia in the Process Industry was held
- Process Industries are the companies that extract, transport and process raw materials to manufacture semi-finished or high-quality end products by means of physical, mechanical and/or chemical processes.
Green Ammonia
- Ammonia is a chemical which is used mainly in the manufacture of nitrogenous fertilizers, like urea and ammonium nitrate, but can be put to other uses too, such as to run engines.
- Green ammonia production is where the process of making ammonia is 100% renewable and carbon-free.
- It is produced by using hydrogen from water electrolysis and nitrogen separated from the air. These are then fed into the Haber process (Also known as Haber-Bosch), all powered by sustainable electricity.
- Green ammonia production makes use of renewable energy sources such as hydro-electric, solar power or wind turbines.
- In the Haber process, hydrogen and nitrogen are reacted together at high temperatures and pressures to produce ammonia, NH3.
Uses:
- Energy storage: Ammonia is easily stored in bulk as a liquid at modest pressures (10-15 bar) or refrigerated to -33°C. This makes it an ideal chemical store for renewable energy.
- Ammonia can be burnt in an engine or used in a fuel cell to produce electricity. When used, ammonia’s only by-products are water and nitrogen.
- The maritime industry is likely to be an early adopter, replacing the use of fuel oil in marine engines.
Significance:
- Green ammonia is intended to be used in the production of carbon-neutral fertilizer products, decarbonizing the food value chain, and also has potential as a future climate-neutral shipping fuel.
- Green ammonia is crucial to tackle the existential challenges of producing enough food to feed a growing global population and generating CO2-free energy.
Green Ammonia Policy
- Under the policy, the government is offering to set up manufacturing zones for production, connectivity to the ISTS (Inter-State Transmission System) on priority basis, and free transmission for 25 years if the production facility is commissioned before June 2025.
- This means that a green hydrogen producer will be able to set up a solar power plant in Rajasthan to supply renewable energy to a green hydrogen plant in Assam and would not be required to pay any inter-state transmission charges.
- Besides, producers will be allowed to set up bunkers near ports for storage of green ammonia for export by shipping.
- The production target has also been raised five times from 1 million tonnes (m) to 5 mt by 2030.
- In October, 2021 it was announced that India is targeting initially around 1 million tonnes annual green hydrogen production by 2030.
- Manufacturers of Green hydrogen and ammonia are allowed to purchase renewable power from the power exchange or set up Renewable Energy (RE) capacity themselves or through any other developer, anywhere.
- To ensure ease of doing business a single portal for carrying out all the activities including statutory clearances in a time bound manner will be set up by MNRE (Ministry of New and Renewable Energy).
SOURCE: THE HINDU,THE ECONOMIC TIMES,MINT