- •Abstract
- •Acknowledgements
- •Table of contents
- •List of figures
- •List of tables
- •List of boxes
- •Executive summary
- •Absent a change in course, ammonia production would continue to take an environmental toll
- •Towards more sustainable ammonia production
- •Near-zero-emission ammonia production requires new infrastructure, innovation and investment
- •Enabling more sustainable ammonia production
- •Chapter 1. Ammonia production today
- •Ammonia and society
- •Nitrogen fertilisers: An indispensable input to our modern agricultural systems
- •Demand, supply and trade
- •Ammonia production fundamentals
- •Current and emerging production pathways
- •A brief history of ammonia production
- •Natural gas reforming
- •Coal gasification
- •Near-zero-emission production routes currently being pursued
- •Economic considerations
- •Ammonia and the environment
- •Non-CO2 environmental impacts
- •Non-CO2 greenhouse gas emissions from fertiliser production and use
- •Impacts on water, soil, air and ecosystems
- •What will happen tomorrow to today’s CO2 emissions from ammonia production?
- •Chapter 2. The future of ammonia production
- •Three contrasting futures for the ammonia industry
- •The outlook for demand and production
- •The outlook for nitrogen demand, nutrient use efficiency and material efficiency
- •Nitrogen demand drivers
- •Measures to improve nitrogen use efficiency
- •The outlook for production
- •Technology pathways towards net zero emissions
- •Energy consumption and CO2 emissions
- •A portfolio of mitigation options
- •Innovative technology pathways
- •Overview of global and regional technology trends
- •China
- •India
- •North America
- •Europe
- •Other key regions
- •Considerations for the main innovative technologies
- •Dedicated VRE electrolysis
- •CCUS-equipped pathways
- •Readiness, competitiveness and investment
- •An array of technology options at differing levels of maturity
- •Exploring key uncertainties
- •Future production costs
- •Uncertainty in technology innovation
- •Investment
- •Chapter 3. Enabling more sustainable ammonia production
- •The current policy, innovation and financing landscape
- •Ongoing efforts by governments
- •Carbon pricing and energy efficiency measures
- •Support for near-zero-emission technology RD&D and early commercial deployment
- •Policies for improving efficiency of use
- •International collaboration
- •Encouraging progress in the private sector
- •Initiatives involving financial institutions and investors
- •Recommendations for accelerating progress
- •Framework fundamentals
- •Establishing plans and policy for long-term CO2 emission reductions
- •Mobilising finance and investment
- •Targeted actions for specific technologies and strategies
- •Managing existing assets and near-term investment
- •Creating a market for near-zero-emission nitrogen products
- •Developing earlier-stage near-zero-emission technologies
- •Improving use efficiency for ammonia-base products
- •Necessary enabling conditions
- •Enhancing international co-operation and creating a level playing field
- •Planning and developing infrastructure
- •Tracking progress and improving data
- •Key milestones and decision points
- •Annexes
- •Abbreviations
- •Units of measure
Ammonia Technology Roadmap |
Chapter 3. Enabling more sustainable ammonia production |
Towards more sustainable nitrogen fertiliser production |
|
Key actions
Governments: co-ordinate planning and ensure financing for infrastructure to transport and store CO2, and produce and distribute near-zero-emission electricity and hydrogen; establish a clear regulatory framework for infrastructure, particularly for CCS.
Ammonia industry: participate in planning and developing supporting infrastructure; where possible, site new plants in industrial clusters for easier access to infrastructure.
Researchers: provide research into suitable locations for CO2 storage, near-zero- emission electricity generation, process flexibility and industrial clustering.
Non-governmental organisations: raise awareness and increase public acceptance of CCS.
Other industries and dedicated infrastructure companies: collaborate with governments, the fertiliser industry and other industrial stakeholders in the development of infrastructure for CO2 transport and storage and hydrogen production and distribution.
Tracking progress and improving data
Robust data on the ammonia industry’s emissions, energy use, technology profile and nitrogen use efficiency are essential for identifying best practices and opportunities for improvement. By collecting the right data, stakeholders can monitor progress towards objectives, develop industry-appropriate policies and differentiate near-zero-emission fertilisers. Tracking and evaluation are beneficial both at the individual company and farm level, and at the sectoral level via government and industry-led benchmarks and indicators.
Existing data collection and reporting systems can be improved with greater participation from ammonia producers and farmers, and by making regionally aggregated data available for researchers and governments. Governments might consider implementing mandatory emissions reporting if they do not already have it in place, as well as reviewing competition law to enable improved data accessibility and transparency. International collaboration to increase levels of reporting and transparency on emissions performance would provide greater visibility on where progress is being made and where improvement is needed.
An important aspect of tracking CO2 performance will be developing and applying standards for labelling the CO2 intensity of nitrogen fertilisers and differentiating near-zero-emission product, as well as possibly the life-cycle emissions of agricultural production. Ideally government and industry would develop and agree upon practical and uncomplicated standards that can be applied internationally. Such standards and labelling would be useful for regulation, including for carbon
PAGE | 157
IEA. All rights reserved.