Renewable energy giant Siemens Gamesa has signed an agreement with an environmental group to look into the clean production of ammonia for energy storage.
In partnership with Denmark’s Energifonden Skive. the company will look to find an eco-friendly way of using ammonia to store surplus energy from wind turbines.
Ammonia. which is converted from nitrogen gas and then back into nitrates in soil as part of the natural nitrogen cycle. is traditionally produced using fossil fuels. with high emissions created as a result. The end project is often used in fertilisers or fuel for combustion engines. but also has further energy storage potential.
The research and development is to take place at the GreenLab Skive site in Denmark. with the size of the potential green ammonia facility yet to be outlined.
Jens Schiersing Thomsen. senior expert at Siemens Gamesa. stated: “In the green. sustainable energy supply chain. one of our biggest challenges will be storing and converting energy and resources.
“One solution may be the use of surplus wind-based electricity to produce eco-friendly ammonia. This solution would offer double benefit: using the surplus energy that arises in peak wind situations. and creating a new sustainable product we call green ammonia.“