Article entitled “Techno-Economic Analysis of Small-Scale Electro-Ammonia Production in a Port Platform for Maritime Transport” has been published in Clean Technology and is available online at the following links:
This study forms part of the ThinkInAzul program and is supported by Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación with funding from European Union Next Generation EU (PRTR-C17.I1) and by Comunidad Autónoma de Cantabria. Project: C17.I1—Plan Complementario de Ciencias Marinas.
- The study assesses the preliminary technical and economic feasibility of producing green ammonia (e-NH₃) at a small scale (2.4 t/day) on an offshore platform located in the port of Santander and the aerogenerators would be situated 22 miles offshore.
- An estimated CAPEX of 5.99 M€ (equivalent to 0.53 M€/y), OPEX of 1.58 M€/y, and a LCOA of 2408 €/tNH₃ were obtained.
- The results confirmed that, under current technological and economic conditions, small-scale green e-NH3 plants are not yet competitive compared to conventional grey ammonia production plants
- Equipment investment and operating costs were identified as the most influential cost parameters.
What are the implications of the main findings?
- The relevance and novelty of this work lie in the combined evaluation of process simulation, modular cost assessment, and location-specific offshore constraints to determine the economic viability of small-scale decentralized e-NH₃ production.
- The results highlight the need for supraregional techno-economic studies, considering optimal offshore wind availability within a collaborative interregional framework.
- The findings aim to support policymakers in promoting e-NH3 as a sustainable energy solution for maritime transport.