Alaska Gasline Development Corp. will continue work on an innovative hydrogen and ammonia export project despite a snub by the U.S. Department of Energy, or DOE.
The federal agency threw cold water on the plan by ADGC and a group of private partners in its review of a concept proposal made in November by the Alaska group. Because of that AGDC not submit an application for federal subsidies to develop an Alaska “hydrogen hub,” that would have been one of 79 hydrogen hub projects planned by DOE for the U.S.
However, work continue on the ammonia/hydrogen export project by AGDC and its partners, which include, at this point, two major Japanese companies and Hilcorp Energy, a major Cook Inlet gas producer. If the plan proceeds – and it is ambitious – it would include redevelopment of the mothballed Agrium Corp. ammonia plant at Nikiski, near Kenai, as well as construction of the Alaska LNG Project and its 800-mile gas pipeline from the North Slope to Nikiski.
The ammonia export plan was a core part of a concept proposal made to the U.S. Department of Energy in November, but DOE did not accept the idea. Japanese companies are keenly interested, however, in the use of ammonia as a chemical “carrier” for hydrogen to be used as a clean-burning fuel.
“Natural gas is an essential fuel for the U.S. and other nations to achieve future emissions targets, first as a replacement for wide-scale coal use and eventually as a source of zero-emission hydrogen,” said Frank Richards, AGDC’s president.
AGDC is working with Mitsubishi Corporation, TOYO Engineering Corporation and Hilcorp Alaska. Agrium Corp., owner of the mothballed ammonia plant at Nikiski, near Kenai, was a partner in the proposal to the DOE, and it is anticipated the company will be part of an AGDC-private ammonia project if It proceeds.
The projectwould include sequestration, or underground storage, of carbon extracted from the natural gas in ammonia production. The carbon would be injected into de;peted gas reservoirs In Cook Inlet.
Ammonia’s chemical composition involves hydrogen and nitrogen, the latter making it useful in fertilizer production, which was also done at Nikiski in a separate plant. The hydrogen can be used as a source of energy, and if liquid ammonia is used as a fuel it is the hydrogen that is burned. easier to store and transport than hydrogen as a gas.
Japanese utilities and others have been experimenting with using liquid ammonia to fuel turbines for power generation and other uses. Because there is no carbon in ammonia, unlike in conventional hydrocarbon fuels, there are no carbon emissions. Hydrogen in the form of liquid ammonia is also easier to transport and store than hydrogen as a gas.
But the idea would require a major new source of natural gas supply from which the ammonia can be made and this would be beyond the capabilities of existing Cook Inlet gas fields, which also fuel regional space heating and power generation.
AGDC would meet this need with its proposed $38 billion Alaska LNG Project, which would bring “stranded” North Slope gas to Cook Inlet through an 800-mile new 42-inch gas pipeline. The Alaska LNG Project is now fully permitting and licensed by the Federal Emergy Regulatory Commission.
In its Dec. 30 statement AGDC said Alaska has a number of assets that make the state well situated for future hydrogen production driven by growing market demand for cleam fuels in Asia, including:
• An abundant supply of untapped and low-cost North Slope natural gas, estimated at 200 trillion cubic feet. Natural gas is a key component for conventional and economical hydrogen production and 95 percent of hydrogen produced in the U.S. is currently derived from natural gas.
• Alaska’s Cook Inlet has the best carbon sequestration potential on the U.S. West Coast according to geologists. The basin can sequester, or store, an estimated 50 gigatons of carbon, according to studies. Capturing and safely storing carbon released during hydrogen and ammonia production ensures hydrogen production remains a low-to-zero emissions process overall.
• Alaska is home to substantial existing energy infrastructure, including the idle ammonia plant adjacent to the planned Alaska LNG Project LNG facility. Cook Inlet is a decades-old oil and gas production region has extensive infrastructure including the ammonia plant that operated from 1969 until 2010.
• The plant closed due to concerns over gas reserves in Southcentral Alaska being depleted. Studies have been underway for several years on the potential for reopening the plant but the key consideration has always been a reliable supply of natural gas.
