It’s Time To Get Excited About Blue Ammonia
Pursuing a green future through blue fuel
Grant Piper
Grant Piper
Sep 28, 2020 · 3 min read
Saudi Arabia is shipping tons of a new energy source to Japan. (Wiki Commons)

Hydrogen has long been speculated to be the future of clean energy for the world economy. Despite its massive potential, the creation of hydrogen fuel cells has been slow. Many economic factors have created a massive headwind for the hydrogen power industry to the point where it is no longer on most people’s minds any longer.

That is about to change.

In what could be a momentous event in the history of clean energy, Saudi Arabia has shipped Japan forty metric tons of a substance called blue ammonia and the world is very excited. Rightfully so.

Not only is this a major step for Saudi ARAMCO, one of the world’s largest oil producers, into the green energy space it also showcases cooperation on a global scale when it comes to the pursuit of new methods of power generation.
What is blue ammonia?

Blue ammonia is a new potential source of energy that is created from byproducts of current fossil fuel production and use. Ammonia is made up of 18% hydrogen which is enough fuel to be used as a clean energy source. The ammonia is created by harvesting hydrocarbons and converting them into hydrogen and ammonia which can then be burned in power generation plants.

The key here is that the blue ammonia does not let off any carbon dioxide when burned and ARAMCO claims that it traps nearly all CO2 generation during the conversion process making this fuel one of the first carbon free options for mass use.

Currently, blue ammonia is made from the byproducts of current and ongoing petrochemical industries. That is why ARAMCO is the company pioneering the creation of this new fuel source but blue ammonia is simply a stepping stone to green ammonia.
What is green ammonia?

Green ammonia is the same as blue ammonia except that the hydrogen fuel is harvested from the byproduct of entirely green fuel methods. Right now, blue ammonia can only exist because of existing “dirty” fuel sources. However, this could be an important step to a completely green future.

If we can continue to diversify our power generation methods and create more and more renewable and green energy, the potential rises that we can perfect a method of green energy that produces hydrogen and ammonia as a byproduct giving us a completely clean and safe power cycle.
The potential is huge

Japan and Saudi Arabia claim that this is the first step into a world fueled by clean hydrogen.

If these ammonia products have that much potential energy, it is not inconceivable to think that this new fuel can be propelled to the forefront of the next generation of power. If Japan can eke out 10% of its power needs from shipments of blue ammonia, imagine what the world could look like in a decade.

This is the kind of future that they are dreaming up together and this shipment is the first step into that future. The excitement is coming from both sides.

Ahmad Al-Khowaiter, ARAMCO’s chief technology officer said of the deal:

“The use of hydrogen is expected to grow in the global energy system, and this world’s first demonstration represents an exciting opportunity for Aramco to showcase the potential of hydrocarbons as a reliable and affordable source of low-carbon hydrogen and ammonia.”

While the world often looks gloomy, dim and hopeless, this is a bright ray of sunshine that we should grab on to. The fact that a country wholly dependent on oil is willing to ship a new, cleaner, fuel source halfway across the globe in the name of renewable energy is a powerful message.

We should all be excited and I think it is time we stay excited.
Medium