Following the January launch of its Renewable Hydrogen scheme, Bureau Veritas announces its Renewable Ammonia scheme, which helps assure safe, sustainable ammonia production from renewable energy.
Ammonia has been produced and used for decades, especially for the manufacturing of fertilizers. Currently, natural gas is used as the main source in its production, which accounts for 1.3% of global greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions1.
Using renewable energy sources to generate hydrogen through water electrolysis and convert it to ammonia with nitrogen taken from the air, offers a sustainable and low-carbon alternative to traditional ammonia production. As such, it is seen as a powerful energy carrier, to store and transport renewable energy. Many renewable hydrogen developers anticipate the conversion of hydrogen into ammonia for a variety of uses beyond the traditional ways of utilizing ammonia. For example, it can be used as an energy vector (then cracked back to hydrogen), as a low-carbon fuel for ships, or as a co-fired fuel for power generation.
This expanded use of hydrogen for conversion to ammonia elicits a need to provide transparency around the way ammonia is produced. The aim of the BV Renewable Ammonia certification scheme is to contribute to hydrogen energy development and international trade by shaping trust. A prerequisite for the Renewable Ammonia certificate is the successful completion of the Renewable Hydrogen certification scheme by Bureau Veritas for the hydrogen feedstock being used. Safety, sustainability, and renewable input are mandatory criteria for the hydrogen as well as for the ammonia scheme. Additionally, the carbon intensity for the ammonia must be demonstrated and proven to be below 0.5 kg CO2eq/kg.
Applicable from the design stage onward, the BV Renewable Ammonia certification scheme also provides proof of “bankability” to address the need from developers to attract early-stage funding.
Laurence Boisramé, Global Director, Hydrogen at Bureau Veritas:
“Continuing our strategy to drive innovation and customer centricity in the energy transition, we are proud to release our certification scheme dedicated to renewable ammonia. This scheme is developed to provide a comprehensive assessment of plants producing ammonia with renewable hydrogen feedstock. It covers carbon footprint and other environmental impacts from a life cycle assessment perspective, incorporating safety and ESG aspects.”
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