(302e) Energy Storage through Electrochemical Ammonia Synthesis Using Proton-Conducting Ceramics
AIChE Annual Meeting
2019
2019 AIChE Annual Meeting
Topical Conference: Ammonia Energy
Ammonia Synthesis: Next Generation Technology I
Tuesday, November 12, 2019 - 11:52am to 12:15pm
In this presentation, we provide an overview of an ambitious
project to store renewable energy through electrochemical synthesis of ammonia. The joint project between the Colorado
School of Mines (Golden, CO) and FuelCell Energy,
Inc. (Danbury, CT) is supported through the U.S. Department of Energy ARPA-E
ÒREFUELÓ program. The research and development team seeks to harness the unique
properties of proton-conducting ceramics to activate chemical and
electrochemical reactions for efficient and cost-effective synthesis of
ammonia. The system concept is shown in Figure 1; renewable electricity is used
to drive electrolysis of the H2O feedstock to form hydrogen. This electrochemically
produced hydrogen then reacts with nitrogen over a proprietary catalyst
(Starfire Energy, LLC, Golden, CO) to form
ammonia. In addition to converting
electricity into a commodity chemical, the system can be operated Òin reverseÓ,
where ammonia fuel is electrochemically oxidized within the protonic-ceramic
device to produce electricity. The program is centered on scale up and advancement of proton-conducting
ceramics, an exciting new class of materials that are now emerging from
research laboratories to address societal challenges in electricity generation,
energy storage, and fuels synthesis. We are exploring the promise of the
technology through a number of parallel efforts. Through materials development,
we seek to improve the electrochemical performance of the protonic-ceramic
electrolyzer / fuel cell. We are
developing pilot-scale manufacturing processes to build larger-area
protonic-ceramic devices, and integrating these devices into higher-capacity,
multi-cell stacks. This stack
development brings questions regarding protonic-ceramic materials stability in
the presence of metallic stack components, current collectors, and seals. We are developing electrochemical and
catalytic models to advance our fundamental understanding of the
ammonia-synthesis process. Further,
we apply techno-economic models to explore the value proposition of
electrochemical ammonia synthesis, and expose the key underlying cost drivers. We will present an overview of this REFUEL program and recent results
in this talk. The information, data, or work presented herein was funded in
part by the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), U.S. Department
of Energy, under Award Number DE-AR0000808. The views and opinions of authors
expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States
Government or any agency thereof.
project to store renewable energy through electrochemical synthesis of ammonia. The joint project between the Colorado
School of Mines (Golden, CO) and FuelCell Energy,
Inc. (Danbury, CT) is supported through the U.S. Department of Energy ARPA-E
ÒREFUELÓ program. The research and development team seeks to harness the unique
properties of proton-conducting ceramics to activate chemical and
electrochemical reactions for efficient and cost-effective synthesis of
ammonia. The system concept is shown in Figure 1; renewable electricity is used
to drive electrolysis of the H2O feedstock to form hydrogen. This electrochemically
produced hydrogen then reacts with nitrogen over a proprietary catalyst
(Starfire Energy, LLC, Golden, CO) to form
ammonia. In addition to converting
electricity into a commodity chemical, the system can be operated Òin reverseÓ,
where ammonia fuel is electrochemically oxidized within the protonic-ceramic
device to produce electricity. The program is centered on scale up and advancement of proton-conducting
ceramics, an exciting new class of materials that are now emerging from
research laboratories to address societal challenges in electricity generation,
energy storage, and fuels synthesis. We are exploring the promise of the
technology through a number of parallel efforts. Through materials development,
we seek to improve the electrochemical performance of the protonic-ceramic
electrolyzer / fuel cell. We are
developing pilot-scale manufacturing processes to build larger-area
protonic-ceramic devices, and integrating these devices into higher-capacity,
multi-cell stacks. This stack
development brings questions regarding protonic-ceramic materials stability in
the presence of metallic stack components, current collectors, and seals. We are developing electrochemical and
catalytic models to advance our fundamental understanding of the
ammonia-synthesis process. Further,
we apply techno-economic models to explore the value proposition of
electrochemical ammonia synthesis, and expose the key underlying cost drivers. We will present an overview of this REFUEL program and recent results
in this talk. The information, data, or work presented herein was funded in
part by the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), U.S. Department
of Energy, under Award Number DE-AR0000808. The views and opinions of authors
expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States
Government or any agency thereof.
Figure 1: Electrochemical
ammonia-synthesis system.