Launch of 'Green Ammonia Council' for Carbon Neutrality... Technology Development Accelerates

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Haeyoung] The government is set to actively promote the development of 'Green Ammonia' technology, an eco-friendly hydrogen transport medium.

On the 15th, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy held a memorandum of understanding ceremony for the 'Green Ammonia Council for Carbon Neutrality' both online and offline at Hotel ICC in Daejeon.

The Green Ammonia Council was formed for the first time in Korea to cooperate on the full-cycle technology development of green ammonia 'production→transportation→extraction→utilization' as a measure to achieve the carbon neutrality goal by 2050. Five institutions including the Korea Institute of Energy Research and the Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology, along with 13 companies such as Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction, Lotte Chemical, Samsung Engineering, POSCO, Hyundai Heavy Industries, Hyundai Motor Company, and Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering participate.

Green ammonia refers to ammonia produced using green hydrogen generated from renewable energy without carbon dioxide emissions. Unlike liquefied hydrogen, ammonia easily liquefies at room temperature and has 1.7 times the hydrogen storage capacity per unit volume compared to liquefied hydrogen. Another advantage is that it is already commercialized worldwide with well-established transportation means and distribution infrastructure.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) and the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) have forecasted that green ammonia will play a pivotal role as a hydrogen carrier and zero-carbon fuel in the carbon-neutral era.

On this day, the participating organizations of the council agreed to build a value chain for the green ammonia industry 'production→transportation→extraction→utilization' using domestic technology and to work towards expanding its base. They plan to cooperate on technology development including low-cost green ammonia production, utilization as transportation and ship fuel, hydrogen supply through green ammonia hydrogen extraction, and zero-carbon fuel use in gas turbines and fuel cells. Additionally, safety standards for the entire ammonia lifecycle will be established to safely produce, transport, and utilize green ammonia.

Joo Young-jun, Director General of the Energy Resources Office at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, stated, "We hope the ammonia council will be the starting point for realizing carbon neutrality," and added, "The government will actively support the development of various transportation and storage medium technologies using green hydrogen."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.