TELEGRAM - Toward Efficient Electrochemical Green Ammonia Cycle (DFM.AD003.398)

Thematic area

Physical sciences and technologies of matter

Project area

Structure responsible for the research project

Institute for microelectronics and microsystems (IMM)

Project manager

STEFANIAMARIASERENA PRIVITERA
Phone number: 0955968211
Email: stefania.privitera@imm.cnr.it

Abstract

Ammonia is one of the most important chemicals, but its production requires an energy intensive process, responsible for about 1-2% of total CO2 emissions worldwide. Ammonia is also potentially a formidable energy vector, with large hydrogen content, high energy volumetric density and, unlike H2, ease of liquefaction for storage. The main objective of TELEGRAM is to demonstrate, at the laboratory scale level, a complete green ammonia carbon-neutral energy cycle, based on electrochemical processes, enabling the use of ammonia as a green fuel.

Goals

- Development of novel catalysts for nitrogen reduction for ammonia synthesis with a faraday efficiency >50% and/or a production rate >10-7 mol cm-2 s-1
- Understanding of the reaction mechanisms by detailed structural characterization, atomistic simulations and in-operando spectroscopy analyses
- Multi stage ammonia reactor with optimised design and catalysts achieving a production rate >10-7 mol cm-2 s-1
- Direct ammonia fuel cell (DAFC) with optimised design using catalysts with platinum group metal loading lower than 0.05 mg cm-² that achieves a power density of at least 100 mW cm-² with a chemical to electricity efficiency > 25% at operating temperatures below 100 °C
- Full electricity-ammonia-electricity cycle powered by renewable energy sources that achieves 95% of the combined efficiencies of ammonia generation and DAFC

Start date of activity

01/11/2020

Keywords

Renewable energy sources, Energy conversion, collection and storage, Green Ammonia, Ammonia fuel cell

Last update: 23/04/2024