Global climate policy think tank E3G has released the report “Challenging Japan’s promotion of ammonia co-firing for coal power generation”, which highlights the problems with co-firing of ammonia in coal-fired power plants promoted by the Japanese government and industry as a climate mitigation solution.

The report emphasizes that ammonia co-firing is an unestablished technology with limited feasibility, and that Japan’s policy to promote ammonia co-firing delays the necessary policy actions required to phase out coal-fired power plants. The report also warns that Japan’s ammonia co-firing policy risks undermining the clean energy transition in Japan and throughout Southeast Asia.

The report makes the following recommendations: 

• Ammonia co-firing should not be considered an effective emission abatement technology.
• Governments should act early to rule out ammonia use in co-firing with coal.
• If countries still pursue this approach despite the risks, any consideration of ammonia co-firing must be aligned with the Paris Agreement goal of limiting warming to 1.5 °C, as has also been highlighted by the G7. This should include an assessment of the lifetime emissions from coal power plants and the life cycle emissions of ammonia production, transport and storage.
• Co-firing should be excluded from the scope of multilateral financing tools for the power sector.
• Governments should cooperate to strategically prioritise the use of green ammonia for the sectors where it can have the greatest climate benefit, such as to decarbonise fertiliser production. Promoting ammonia for co-firing puts pressure on the ammonia supply chain, and risks slowing down emissions reduction in other sectors.
• Governments should work together to establish robust carbon intensity standards for the production and use of ammonia, incorporating full life cycle emissions.

The report underscores that Japan’s promotion of ammonia co-firing for coal power generation is a justification for extending the life of existing coal power plants. This policy risks delaying the necessary coal phase-out and the deployment of existing commercialised and feasible zero-emissions options, including wind and solar, and is unlikely to help Japan improve its energy self-sufficiency.

Downroad from here

Challenging Japan’s promotion of ammonia co-firing for coal power generation（Link）

Relatd Links

Explained: Why ammonia co-firing in coal power generation is a flawed approach（リンク）

Written/Published by: E3G
Published: April 17, 2023