Blue and green ammonia production: A techno-economic and life cycle assessment perspective

Challenges and opportunities for the photo-(thermal) synthesis of ammonia

“…Based on available techno-economic analyses, the main contributors to the total energy consumption in blue ammonia production include the ammonia separation refrigerant, cooling water and gas used to provide heat to the reactors. 6 In the case of green ammonia, electricity for compressors, water for general cooling and refrigerant for separation purposes are the major contributors to the energy requirements of the operation. With this in mind, the photo-thermal approach could potentially reduce the energy demand (and consequently, the cost) of the process by harnessing natural sunlight instead of relying on electricity or gas to power the HB reactors.…”

“…This implies that, ultimately, the hydrogen or gas market prices will play a pivotal role to determine the profitability of any potential route for NH 3 production. 6…”

“…Recent reports indicate, indeed, that the use of blue ammonia can be a present-day convenient solution to mitigate the climate impacts associated with the conventional ammonia production route, at least until green ammonia becomes economically profitable. 6 In fact, in September 2020 ARAMCO and the Institute of Energy Economics (Japan), in partnership with SABIC, successfully achieved the production and shipment of blue ammonia from Saudi Arabia to Japan, thus representing the world's first blue ammonia supply-chain demonstration. 7 Unfortunately, this approach still relies on fossil gas, leading to a high concentration of HB facilities near the gas supply points and increasing transportation costs to remote or underdeveloped locations.…”

Ruminations on sustainable and safe food: Championing for open symbiotic cultures ensuring resource efficiency, eco‐sustainability and affordability

“…Nitrogen (N) is an essential element in all proteinaceous commodities but is still largely supplied by the Haber‐Bosch process (producing more than a third of total reactive nitrogen; Spiller et al., 2022 ). Producing 1 kg of reactive N from dinitrogen present in the air is equivalent to around 2–3.5 kg CO 2 , and globally represents 1%–1.4% of the global GHG emissions (Matassa et al., 2023 ; Mayer et al., 2023 ). Even though progress on eco‐friendlier NH 3 production with blue or green H 2 has been industrially announced, it may take several decades before these routes become economically viable (Mayer et al., 2023 ).…”

A comparative techno-economic assessment of blue, green, and hybrid ammonia production in the United States

“…They found green ammonia to be 70 to 150% more expensive than the best blue ammonia process. Mayer et al 25 conducted a techno-economic analysis and life-cycle assessment of an SMR-based blue ammonia plant and a PV-based green ammonia plant in Saudi Arabia, though the green hydrogen production is not explicitly modelled for the technoeconomic assessment. The results show favourable economics for the blue ammonia process, but also highlight that the climate change impact of the blue ammonia process is very sensitive to methane leakage rates.…”