Gautam Adani-led Adani Group's Adani Power Ltd has undertaken a ground-breaking green ammonia combustion pilot project at its Mundra plant as part of its multipronged decarbonisation initiatives. According to the company release, the development comes as the world leaders converge in the UAE for the UN Climate Change Conference (COP 28) from November 30 to December 12 to fast-track energy transition and slash emissions before 2030.
The Mundra Plant, one of India’s largest private sector power plant, will co-fire up to 20 per cent green ammonia in the boiler of a conventional coal fired 330MW Unit.
Green ammonia, produced from green hydrogen, which in turn is produced through electrolysis using renewable energy, would be a feedstock for the boilers. As ammonia contains no carbon, there is no CO2 emission from its combustion, making it a long-term carbon neutral alternative to fossil fuels. Adani Power has already set a benchmark in the industry for ‘per-unit’ emissions and has adopted state of the art ‘Ultra Supercritical technology’ in its newest plants.
Adani Power has partnered with IHI and Kowa-Japan to deliver the pilot and examine expansion to other APL units and stations as well. Kowa is active in energy saving and energy creating products, while IHI is a heavy industry company which has ammonia firing technology.
Combustion tests at IHI’s facility in Japan have begun with 20 per cent ammonia blend, simulating Mundra Power Station equipment. The partners believe that the results will be encouraging enough to implement this solution at the Mundra Power Station once economic parity is achieved between both feedstocks. The Mundra plant is the first location outside of Japan to have been selected for this cutting-edge green initiative.
The ambitious project has been conceived under the aegis of Japan-India Clean Energy Partnership (CEP), which aims to ensure energy security, achieve carbon neutrality, and achieve economic growth. It has been selected under the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization’s (NEDO) "International Demonstration Project for Japanese Technologies Contributing to Decarbonisation and Energy Transition". NEDO is Japan’s national research and development agency that fosters innovation by promoting technological development necessary for realisation of a sustainable society.
Anil Sardana, managing director at Adani Power, said, "Adani Power is fully committed to reducing its carbon footprint through adoption of latest technologies and proactive measures across our business value chain. In furtherance of this vision, we are happy to partner with IHI and Kowa for blending green ammonia for our Mundra plant, which will reduce CO2 emissions. We will continue to integrate cutting-edge technologies increasingly to reduce emissions in the intermediate term."