Session: 06-09 Innovative GT Cycles

Paper Number: 105386

105386 - Green Ammonia for Gas Turbine Application 

**Technical Publication**

During the last decades, CO₂ emissions have increased by 42% with respect to the pre-industrial era. The anthropogenic CO₂ is the main source of GreenHouse Gas (GHGs) emissions, contributing, alone, to nearly 30% of global warming effects. The reduction in GHGs emissions to contain the increase in global temperature below 2°C, represents one of the greatest challenges of the XXI century, to ensure the survival of the planet and future generations.

In this energy context, Power to X to Power (P2X2P) solutions are gaining more and more importance in the market considering that, in recent years, the market scenario is increasingly driven by Renewable Energy Sources (RESs). The possibility of storing the exceeding electrical energy production, mainly due to RESs, into hydrogen (H₂) or ammonia (NH₃) and then turning it back into electricity when RESs power production falls below demand, can improve grid resilience and stability, ensuring, in the meanwhile, a lower environmental impact. Even more, P2X2P represents an innovative solution to increase the flexibility of Gas Turbine (GT) plants, extending their operative range by using alternative carbon-free fuel. Attaining this goal would make GT plants more suitable to trade on the ancillary services market guaranteeing a more secure and clean power system.

During the last few years, NH₃ has gained a lot of attention as a potential carbon-free energy vector (carrier) being easier to be stored and transported than H₂. Concerning the Power to Ammonia (P2A), this solution integrates an electrolyzer for the H₂ production, a compressor to bring the reactants at the pressure required by the synthesis loop to produce NH_3, and a pressurized storage tank. Regarding, instead, the Ammonia to Power (A2P) system, the NH₃ will be used as fuel in a gas-turbine machine producing electrical and thermal energy when required.

This study focuses on the A2P system integration for GT power plants. To carry out the analysis, a MATLAB/Simulink model has been developed, including also the NH₃ storage and the ammonia cracking reactor to simulate the innovative fuel supply system. The main thermodynamic parameters, system features and critical aspects have been evaluated (e.g. the global efficiency, the turbine inlet and outlet temperatures, the power output, etc.) and a comparison between the same plant fueled by natural gas has been carried out from the technical, environmental, and economical point of view.

Presenting Author: Loredana Magistri University of Genoa

Presenting Author Biography: Loredana Magistri is Full Professor of Energy Systems and Innovative Energy Systems at the University of Genoa. Her field of expertise lays in experimental analysis and simulation of low and high temperature fuel cell systems (PEMFC, MCFC, SOFC), innovative energy plants with carbon capture and sequestration, energy storage by Hydrogen and “chemicals” production and “Power to fuel” technologies. She is collaborating with national and international companies and she is part of the steering committee at TPG for the Rolls-Royce Fuel Cell Systems UTC. She is also responsible for the development of simulation codes for the off-design analysis and thermo-economic performance assessment of innovative power plants and in particular of hybrids systems with high temperature fuel cells. Since 2018 she is part of the technical board of the “Hi-Sea Hydrogen Initiative for Sustainable Energy Application Laboratory”, a joint laboratory of Fincantieri and University of Genoa for the study of PEMFC for marine applications. She is involved in several national and European projects (ENGIMMONIA, FLEXnCONFU, ENVISION, Bio-Hypp, MefCO2, FCHJU GENIUS, LARGE-SOFC, FELICITAS, PIP-SOFC, IM-SOFC-GT). Loredana Magistri has authored more than fifthy papers on international scientific journals.

Authors:

Daria Bellotti University of Genoa
Chiara Anfosso University of Genoa
Loredana Magistri University of Genoa
Aristide Fausto Massardo University of Genoa