Enhancing Ammonia Power Generation: A Study on Integrated System Designs Using PEMFC and Other Technologies

Ammonia is recognized as a non-carbon alternative for hydrogen storage and transport, noted for its efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and safety. At the heart of utilizing ammonia in power generation through fuel cells is the ammonia cracking process (ammonia to hydrogen to power), which requires temperatures above 500°C to release hydrogen. This study explores the integration of ammonia crackers with different power generation technologies, including traditional internal combustion engines (ICE), low-temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFC), and high-temperature solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC). Through modelling and system level optimization in ASPEN and AMPL, this study models and refines how each technology, combined with an ammonia cracker, performs, incorporating components like hydrogen catalytic burners, membranes, and heat exchangers to assess each scenario's benefits and limitations. This approach highlights the benefits of utilizing ammonia crackers in an "ammonia-to-hydrogen-to-power" pathway compared to a more direct "ammonia-to-power" route without cracking.While findings indicate that SOFC offers the most efficient integration, achieving a global efficiency of 76.9%, albeit with a need for careful temperature control strategies, PEMFC can achieve a global efficiency of 54%, when carefully selecting the technology through system optimization. The study proposes a new system layout that not only utilizes ammonia—a clean, non-carbon fuel—but also enhances efficiency through compact PEMFC design solutions. This approach offers promising pathways for deploying ammonia in a variety of energy systems using PEMFC, highlighting its potential for cost-effective scalable, clean power generation.