FuelPositive Corp., Toronto, which has been developing a modular and scalable system for producing green ammonia, reported on Nov. 18 that it is on track to launch multiple “real world” demonstration pilot projects to showcase its technology throughout 2022, with actual serial manufacturing, assembly-line style, to begin in 2023.
“FuelPositive’s technology and approach makes producing green ammonia economical, and with room for significant continuous improvements as the cost reduction curve is realized and carbon credits and other potential incentives are incorporated,” said Ian Clifford, FuelPositive CEO.
“FuelPositive’s decentralized, in situ model turns the ammonia industry on its head, dramatically reducing the dependency on massive refineries and unreliable, wildly fluctuating supply chains. End users will make what they need, where they need it, with a steady cost and supply – and all of this without greenhouse gas emissions,” Clifford added.
The company said about 80 percent of traditional or “gray” ammonia, which is produced using fossil fuels, is used by the agriculture sector, primarily as fertilizer. For green ammonia to be embraced by farmers, the company said it must be affordable, and FuelPositive is targeting farming for its first demonstration pilot project.
For the purposes of this costing model, FuelPositive has worked from a case study based on a 1,800-acre farm in Manitoba, where the average price of gray ammonia in 2021 has been calculated at C$900/mt. The delivered cost of gray anhydrous ammonia to farmers in Manitoba doubled from C$600/mt to over C$1,200/mt in a period of six months this year.
The initial FuelPositive systems will produce up to 300 kilos (500 liters) of green anhydrous ammonia per day, which amounts to roughly 100 mt/y. The company said this output is suitable for a model farm of 1,800 acres. Larger farms would add sufficient production capacity to meet their needs – easily done, since FuelPositive’s green ammonia production units are modular, scalable, and portable for precisely this purpose.
The cost of production for the case study has been calculated by FuelPositive at approximately C$560/mt (based on a hydrogen production efficiency rate of 65 percent), compared to the current average cost of C$900/mt of gray ammonia. FuelPositive is forecasting under C$500/mt for future systems as production efficiencies improve.
Electricity costs for the farm are estimated at C$0.045 per kilowatt hour. This is based on the current cost of electricity paid in Manitoba, which has a carbon-free, sustainable electricity grid. The electricity cost represents the largest component of the overall cost of the green ammonia produced in the FuelPositive system.
FuelPositive said this cost does not take into account any additional potential cost reductions related to carbon credits, which could reduce the cost by 50 percent or more, or the farmer’s own capacity to generate sustainable electricity for the FuelPositive system through solar or wind generation on site. The company said that today the cost of solar power is at parity with the Manitoba grid, however, the cost of renewables are predicted to continue to decline.
The company has raised some C$12 million, which it said will cover its cost to build a number of green ammonia production systems. The company began to build its first full-sized prototype system in June, immediately after filing for its provisional patent. The building of the second and third prototypes is scheduled to begin before the end of 2021, applying a batch-style approach to manufacturing.
The first pilot system will be ready to deploy in the summer of 2022. The second and third systems will deploy later in 2022. The company will also house one system in its facility for further development, monitoring and demonstration.
By the end of March 2022, the company said it will be validating the purity of the green ammonia produced by the first prototype system, as well as the cost expenditures. Pre-orders will begin at that point.