Ammonia‑to‑power in Bangladesh: techno‑economic potential, barriers, and a strategic roadmap for the power sector

• Integrated techno-economic review of ammonia-to-power for Bangladesh. • Limited co-firing is feasible in selected modern coal and CCGT plants. • Ammonia power now costs far more than CCGT and utility-scale solar. • Bangladesh lacks ammonia-ready ports, storage, and safety regulation. • Roadmap treats ammonia as a conditional, long-term complementary option. Ammonia is increasingly promoted as a carbon-free fuel and hydrogen carrier for power generation, yet its techno-economic viability for lower-middle-income, fossil-fuel-dominated, climate-vulnerable economies remains poorly assessed. This paper provides the first integrated techno-economic assessment of ammonia’s potential role in Bangladesh’s power sector, mapping international evidence on ammonia-to-power technologies onto Bangladesh’s national energy statistics, planning documents, and policy commitments. The findings show that limited ammonia co-firing at ≤20% in modern supercritical coal units and selected Combined Cycle Gas Turbines (CCGTs) is technically feasible, and that domestic solar and coastal wind resources could support green-ammonia hubs in the 2035–2040 horizon. However, ammonia-based power is presently much more expensive than gas-fired CCGT and utility-scale solar. Bangladesh lacks deep-draft ammonia-capable terminals and bulk storage, and ammonia-specific safety and environmental regulations are largely undeveloped. A structured four-domain barrier–risk framework identifies high capital intensity, uncontrolled NO x of 800–1,500 ppm at 20% co-firing, institutional capacity gaps, and significant accident and pollution risks. This study concludes that, under current conditions, ammonia should be treated as a conditional, long-term option for targeted pilots and future green-ammonia clusters, rather than a near-term pillar of the power transition. The paper outlines a staged roadmap and research agenda — including national-level power system simulation, primary lifecycle assessment, and geospatial green-ammonia hub analysis — emphasizing continuous benchmarking against lower-cost decarbonization pathways such as accelerated renewables and regional power trade