Analysis of small-scale power-to-ammonia (P2A) electricity storage in combination with renewable electricity

Abstract

The world once was 100% renewable, before the industrialization began and the use of fossil fuels. To become 100% renewable, this should be everyones goal on this earth. The share of renewable energy is increasing and so is the need for energy storages. The problem of volatile renewable energy generation can probably partly be solved by smart grids and load management, and by using other renewable sources with low volatility. But the goals for GHG emissions are set and in order to reach them, volatile energy production such as PV and wind power is necessary. The focus in this thesis was to analyse the use of Power-to-Ammonia storage technology for small-scale use. Power-to-Ammonia storage can be used as a seasonal storage with high energy capacity. A literature research beginning from renewable energy generation up to storage technologies and European energy statistics helped to have an overview of what is needed. The different types of Power-to-Ammonia storage technologies and usage of ammonia as a fuel were collected in different literature. The analyses showed, compared to other storage technologies, Power-to Ammonia has a lot of advantages, especially considering the life cycle analysis. But it also shown that in this development stage, small scale use as described in this thesis could only make sense by merging households to a large-scale plant, due to high investment and operation costs.