Taipower signs ammonia co-firing pilot project MOU with IHI, Sumitomo

Taipei, Feb. 29 (CNA) Taiwan Power Co. (Taipower) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Japan's IHI Corp. and Sumitomo Corp. in Taipei on Thursday for a pilot project that will account for 5 percent of its power generation using ammonia co-firing at Talin Thermal Power Plant in Kaohsiung.

The project aims to achieve 5 percent ammonia co-firing at the coal-fired plant by 2030, Taipower Vice President Cheng Ching-hung (鄭慶鴻) said at the MOU-signing event.

The 5 percent ammonia co-firing would reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 9,000 metric toness per year, which is about the annual carbon absorption of 23 Da-an Parks, he added.

According to Taipower, as ammonia firing does not generate carbon dioxide and ammonia can be stored in its liquid form at minus 33 degree Celsius, it has the potential to become a green fuel that can be efficiently transported and stored.

As Taipower pursues the goal of net-zero 2050, the company has been scaling up the percentage of power generation accounted for by renewable energy, but decarbonization in thermal power generation is also crucial, Cheng said.

Other than ammonia co-firing technology, he noted that a pilot project involving gas-fired hydrogen blending for power generation is also being undertaken at Hsinta Power Plant in Kaohsiung, and a carbon capture and storage system has been installed at Taichung Power Plant.

The two Japanese corporations were also involved in the construction of two new power generation units -- ultra-supercritical pressure coal fired boilers -- at Talin Power Plant which were completed in 2018.

"The carbon emissions of the units is already low, and additional technical cooperation with IHI and Sumitomo will help to further develop decarbonizing technologies," Cheng said.

Also present at Thursday's MOU signing were Yukihisa Ozawa, vice president of the Resources, Energy and Environment Business Area of IHI Corp., and Seiji Kitajima, director of Energy innovation Initiative at Sumitomo Corp.

Ozawa said IHI has successfully implemented small-scale ammonia co-firing in Japan and Indonesia, and is expected to use the experience to contribute to the realization of Taiwan's net-zero goal.

Sumitomo's Kitajima said in recent years the corporation has been working on building ammonia supply chains and ammonia-fueled ships, adding that as part of the pilot project the company will install Japan's ammonia-receiving and supplying system at the Talin plant.

Asked by reporters on the sidelines about the ammonia supply, Cheng said Taiwan currently has insufficient supply and relies on imports. As such, the focus of the pilot project will be co-firing technology and retrofitting the plant units.