Japanese power generation company JERA and industrial equipment manufacturer Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) will conduct a project to develop and demonstrate technology to increase the ammonia co-firing rate at coal-fired boilers, after their grant application, under the Green Innovation Fund programme of the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organisation, was accepted.

This project aims to develop an ammonia single-fuel burner suitable for coal-fired boilers and to demonstrate operation of the burner at actual boilers. The project is expected to continue until 2028.

"Ammonia enables efficient, low-cost transport and storage of hydrogen. In addition to this role as an energy carrier, it can also be used directly as a fuel in thermal power generation. As a fuel that does not emit carbon dioxide (CO₂) when burned, ammonia is expected to offer great advantages in reducing greenhouse-gas emissions.

"In order to achieve a decarbonised society, it is important to reduce CO₂ emissions from thermal power generation by innovating to increase the co-firing rate of fuel ammonia," the companies said in a January 7 release.

By 2024, JERA and MHI aim to develop a new burner capable of single-fuel ammonia combustion and draw up a master plan for equipment to demonstrate its use in actual boilers. Based on the results, the two companies will decide whether to install the burners at JERA's coal-fired boilers made by MHI.

For the actual plant demonstrations, JERA and MHI plan to verify co-firing with at least 50% ammonia at two units with different boiler types by 2028.

Under its Zero CO₂ Emissions 2050 objective, JERA has been working to reduce CO₂ emissions from its domestic and overseas businesses to zero by 2050, promoting the adoption of greener fuels and pursuing thermal power that does not emit CO₂ during power generation.

JERA will continue to contribute to energy industry decarbonisation through its own proactive efforts to develop decarbonisation technologies while ensuring economic rationality, it said.

Additionally, under its Mission Net Zero declaration, MHI will promote the energy transition in cooperation with partners around the world and contribute to achieving a carbon-neutral society through the collective efforts of the group by its products, technologies and services that can contribute to CO₂ reduction, MHI said.