A group of Japanese companies is planning to demonstrate the use of fuel ammonia to operate a naphtha cracker, as part of efforts to spur decarbonisation in the petrochemical sector.
Mitsui Chemicals, Maruzen Petrochemical, Toyo Engineering and Sojitz Machinery have jointly secured ¥23.3bn ($202mn) of subsidies from state-controlled research and development institute Nedo to develop and demonstrate technology to burn fuel ammonia, instead of conventional methane-based gas, to operate a naphtha cracker.
Mitsui Chemical plans to operate the demonstration ammonia-fuelled cracker at its Osaka ethylene plant, while Maruzen Petrochemical will demonstrate another pilot cracker at its Chiba plant. Toyo Engineering plans to build the test and demonstration cracker and auxiliary facilities, while Sojitz Machinery aims to develop and manufacture a fuel burner.
The group will carry out the pilot project for 10 years to March 2031, targeting an entirely ammonia-fired commercial cracker in the project's final year. This is part of four chemical-related projects Nedo has selected for its funding of ¥123.4bn to help reduce the country's carbon dioxide emissions. The latest subsidies come from the ¥2 trillion green innovation fund set up as part of Tokyo's 2050 carbon neutral roadmap.
Japan is stepping up efforts to promote the use of hydrogen and ammonia in industries proving difficult to shift to low-carbon electrification, as part of discussions about the country's new clean energy strategy scheduled to be formulated by June this year. The potential increase in the use of fuel ammonia in the industrial sector is forecast to increase the country's demand for the fuel beyond a 3mn t/yr by 2030 and 30mn t/yr by 2050, which is based on power generation use.
