Ammonia: Zero-carbon Fertiliser, Fuel and Energy Storage

This briefing considers the opportunities and challenges associated with the manufacture and future use of zero-carbon ammonia, which is referred to in this report as green ammonia. The production of green ammonia has the capability to impact the transition towards zero-carbon through the decarbonisation of its current major use in fertiliser production. Perhaps as significantly, it has the following potential uses: • As a medium to store and transport chemical energy, with the energy being released either by directly reacting with air or by the full or partial decomposition of ammonia to release hydrogen. • As a transport fuel, by direct combustion in an engine or through chemical reaction with oxygen in the air in a fuel cell to produce electricity to power a motor. • To store thermal energy through the absorption of water and through phase changes between material states (for example liquid to gas).