Partnership puts Green Ammonia project on fast track for real world use

Tuesday, 9 May 2023

A cleaner greener future is one step closer thanks to a new $18 million research partnership between the University of Newcastle and Australian company Element One, and the Australian Government.

The partnership is the first research grant for the University of Newcastle under the Trailblazer for Recycling and Clean Energy (TRaCE) program – a partnership with UNSW to fast track the commercialisation of (recycling and) clean energy technologies and support national decarbonisation and manufacturing agendas.

Element One, a company focused on emerging hydrogen technologies have partnered with Laureate Professor Behdad Moghtaderi to deliver a project titled: AMMONIAC: A Chemical Looping-Based Process for Production of Green Ammonia.

AMMONIAC will be a multi-phase project concerned with the production of green ammonia as a hydrogen carrier, and one that Laureate Professor Moghtaderi said will have impact on a global scale.

Three men stand looking at the camera (Image L-R) University  of Newcastle Vice-Chancellor Professor Alex Zelinsky, Laureate Professor Behdad Moghtaderi and  Element One Founder and Managing Director Phil Matthews.

“What we’re hoping to achieve with this project is a paradigm shift in production of green ammonia in terms of both technical difficulty and cost,” Laureate Professor Moghtaderi said.

“Ammonia is a highly sought after global commodity, so once we can prove the technology for this particular project, we expect that our process will become the norm globally for the production of green ammonia.”

Laureate Professor Moghtaderi said the ammonia product developed through the AMMONIAC project will be able to be used either as a hydrogen carrier for direct power generation applications or as feedstock in renewable fertilizer and explosive manufacturing, with significant domestic and export market potentials.

AMMONIAC builds on the work done by Laureate Professor Moghtaderi and his team, based at the Newcastle Institute for Energy and Resources, over the past 10 years.

Phase one of AMMONIAC will focus on the development and validation of a proof-of-concept prototype, while phase two will be dedicated to the construction, commissioning, and operation of a 10 tonne/day reference plant at a site in Queensland.

Element One Founder and Managing Director Phil Matthews said the signing of the AMMONIAC research contract is a significant milestone in the journey towards solutions for a sustainable, ‘clean and green’ future.

“We are incredibly proud to partner with the University of Newcastle,” Mr Matthews said.

“When Laureate Professor Moghtaderi first contacted Element One to enquire about gaseous hydrogen storage, who would have known it would lead here.

“We’ve since built a solid relationship and are now working on a raft of novel technologies that could reshape the future of fuel and energy as we know it.”

“The University of Newcastle’s novel approach to ammonia synthesis through chemical looping is game changing.”

University of Newcastle Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research and Innovation), Professor Zee Upton, said the progression of the research into prototyping and then commercialisation was an exciting and promising milestone.

“This partnership with Element One signifies the first of many milestones in the TRaCE program, as Laureate Professor Moghtaderi’s team progresses with technology that will really transform the deployment of hydrogen technologies on a global scale,” Professor Upton said.

“The University of Newcastle is proud to be a key player in this important project that will bring the world closer to a sustainable future with solutions for the use of natural resources and the development of new energy technologies.”

The announcement of the first research partnership under the TRaCE program adds to the University's efforts to help accelerate Australia's renewable revolution.

Vice-Chancellor Professor Alex Zelinsky AO said "We have the innovation capabilities and the industry relationships to lead the energy transition, and we’re excited to be a key partner for our regions. We know that the Australian Government has an agenda to ensure the country can reach our potential as a renewable energy superpower and we welcome the Federal Budget announcement of $2 billion for a new Hydrogen Headstart program, which will help set our region up for the new energy future."

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