To combat the mounting demands of the energy crisis and Russia’s influence on the natural gas markets, the United Kingdom is focusing on developing new renewable energy projects.
While wind, solar, and nuclear power are typically cited as the leading sources of renewable energy, a new company is attempting to develop a more efficient form of energy by using fertiliser.
Engineers at the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) are working on a green ammonia plant that can create ammonia effectively using only intermittent renewable energy.
Ammonia has long been used as a fertiliser, however scientists are also investigating its potential as a transporter for hydrogen, which is important as hydrogen is expected to replace natural gas in the future.
Ammonia also has some benefits over hydrogen gas or liquid in that it can be stored and delivered at a higher energy density and at a cheaper cost, and it already has a reliable manufacturing and distribution network
The potentially groundbreaking project has recieved backing from the UK government, awarding £284,000 through the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy’s (BEIS) Net Zero Innovation Portfolio Low Carbon Hydrogen Supply 2 Competition.
With the release of the Energy Strategy outlining how the UK Government plans to boost our Energy Supply through renewables, this is just one of the many efforts the government are making to increase this type of energy generating methods.
Hydrogen production targets are being increased in order to assist supply cleaner energy for industry, power, transportation, and maybe heating, while a new licensing round for North Sea projects is being launched in the summer on the basis that producing gas in the UK has a lower carbon footprint than doing so abroad.
That is not all though, the strategy touches on Wind, Nuclear, Hydrogen, Solar and Oil and Gas.
This all comes as Energy Bills are at an all-time high for households across the UK, with the energy price cap being raised at an average of almost £600 annually. This is all due to rising wholesale gas prices, impacting families across the world.
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