Polish company Hynfra has signed a cooperation agreement with Tsubame BHB, a Japanese ammonia technology supplier that has developed an innovative catalyst technology for a small-scale ammonia production. Tsubame’s technology can be used in the heating sector, and in the area of renewable energy storage or hydrogen logistics.

Tsubame BHB Co. Ltd. is a Japanese company that has developed a small-scale ammonia production process using their invention of an innovative catalyst, called electride catalyst. The catalyst can synthesize ammonia at a lower temperature and lower pressure compared to the technology available on the market today.
Hynfra P.S.A. is a technology integrator and systems designer for the production of renewable hydrogen that can also be used in the process of synthesis with nitrogen to produce ammonia. Thanks to the zero-emission hydrogen technology used in the process, ammonia produced from it is also called ‘green’. Hynfra is also an ammonia expert with long experience in the fertilizer industry.
Ammonia (NH3), whose molecule is composed of one nitrogen atom from the air and three hydrogen atoms, has a key feature from energy transformation perspective: its combustion does not result with CO2 emissions.
Hynfra sees the possibility of using Tsubame’s solution in e.g. distributed small renewable hydrogen facilities, e.g. in the municipal and district heating sector.

‘Due to its physical and chemical properties, hydrogen is not fit for large-scale storage. This is where ammonia comes into play not only as an effective hydrogen carrier itself, but also as a viable, low-emission fuel for hard to abate sectors. The ability to produce ammonia on a small scale will enable a more flexible storage not only of hydrogen itself, but also of the renewable energy it carries, without the need for any capital-intensive or large-scale investment in traditional production plants’, says Tomoho Umeda, CEO of Hynfra.

‘As a result of the agreement, Hynfra will benefit from Tsubame’s unique technologies in the area of small-scale ammonia production. We believe that our solution will work not only in the area of the conventional ammonia market (mainly in the nitrogen fertilizer industry), but will above all ensure the effective implementation of new application areas, especially in the context of challenges related to hydrogen storage and its long-distance logistics’, said Masahiro Watanabe, Representative Director CEO.

Today, ammonia is mainly used for fertilizers production and is produced using natural gas. The current production method is based on Haber-Bosch technology, which requires high pressure and high temperature and therefore results in the large-scale ammonia production.
It is the fertilizer industry that produces the largest amount of process hydrogen in Poland. At the same time, it is one of the largest national GHG pollutants and consumers of natural gas and electricity. The use of renewable hydrogen for the production of ammonia makes it possible to combine the implementation of climate goals with even stronger support for the architecture of distributed renewable energy, whose generation units are located closer to the end user.

Hynfra https://www.hynfra.pl/?lang=en