Green ammonia – produced from solar and wind energy – is suitable as a carbon-free hydrogen storage medium for the international as well as domestic transport of renewable energy. The energy carrier can be split back into its components hydrogen and nitrogen by ammonia cracking.

Within the framework of CAMPFIRE, ZBT is developing a new ultra-fine cleaning technology for the separation of residual ammonia for the production of hydrogen suitable for refuelling. It is based on amine salt storage and a cost-effective membrane separation module. Laser welding and 3D printing are used in the production. In addition, ZBT is developing a safety concept and ways to integrate and operate the purification system in a high-pressure hydrogen refuelling system.

For the decentralised synthesis of ammonia, ZBT is supporting the development and construction of scalable, microstructured Haber-Bosch reactors with novel catalysts. Dynamic process models are used to model the integration of the reactors in plants for ammonia production from regenerative energy sources. As a possible future alternative to the Haber-Bosch process, the ZBT is involved in the development of thin-film-based membrane electrode units for electrochemical solid-state ammonia synthesis (SSAS) on a laboratory scale.

Ammonia-powered engines and fuel cells can be used not only for propulsion and on-board power supply of recreational boats, inland waterway vessels and seagoing ships. Decentralised power and heat supply on land is also a field of application. In order to be able to operate engines directly with ammonia, an ignition fuel must be mixed in, for example hydrogen. For this purpose, ZBT is developing ammonia cracker plants in several projects to provide a hydrogen-rich gas mixture for ammonia engines with outputs between 15 kW and 1 MW.

For the investigation of innovative reactor concepts with new catalysts and materials for pressurised operation, short start-up times and high dynamics, a newly constructed ammonia infrastructure and laboratory technology is available at ZBT. Stationary and dynamic models are being developed and validated in experiments for computer-aided component and plant development and for the automation of the cracker plants.

In another CAMPFIRE sub-project of ZBT, a concept for an ammonia-based propulsion and energy supply system for a cruise ship is being developed and optimised for the load profiles of representative Baltic Sea routes starting from Rostock Port. The entire energy conversion chain is covered by an ammonia cracker system in combination with different fuel cell technologies and buffer batteries for peak loads. Machine learning approaches in combination with dynamic modelling of the energy supply system are used for the optimal selection and dimensioning of the components.

CAMPFIRE is funded with around 50 million euros as part of the BMBF WIR! programme and the BMBF lead project TransHyDE. The ZBT is a founding partner and head of Strategy & Technology of CAMPFIRE and is working on theoretical and experimental tasks in several sub-projects in the various technology developments for the establishment of green ammonia.

Department Energy Sources and Processes