Japanese engineering firm Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) will partner with state-controlled electricity generator Indonesia Power to study co-firing of less carbon-intensive fuels at the Indonesian firm's power plants.
The firms signed an initial agreement on 1 November to conduct three feasibility studies on co-firing, according to MHI on 2 November. The three studies will be jointly conducted by Indonesia Power — a subsidiary of Indonesia's state-owned electricity provider PLN — and MHI, with the support of MHI's power solutions firm Mitsubishi Power.
The agreement will advance Indonesia's efforts in decarbonising its energy systems and achieving its 2060 net zero emissions target, MHI said.
The first two studies will be conducted at the 4GW Suralaya coal-fired power plant in Banten province's coastal industrial city of Cilegon. The first study will examine the technical and economic feasibility of using up to 100pc biomass. It will focus on the biomass supply chain, including handling, storage, transport and boiler modification.
Coal-fired power plants currently have the largest share in Indonesia's generation mix and account for over 75pc of domestic coal demand of 166mn t. PLN plans to cut 6.7GW of coal-fired generation capacity by 2040 to help Indonesia achieve its 2060 net zero goal.
The second study will investigate the feasibility of co-firing ammonia produced by existing ammonia plants in Indonesia. It will focus on the possibility of establishing a blue ammonia supply chain, including production and transportation from ammonia plants, and applying ammonia co-firing technology in existing boilers.
The third study will evaluate the technical and economic feasibility of hydrogen co-firing in a gas turbine at Indonesia Power's Tanjung Priok gas turbine combined-cycle facility.
MHI is also involved in another co-firing project in Indonesia and a feasibility study on an ammonia-fired gas turbine in Singapore.
