The Northern Netherlands is an unique environment for sustainably-minded (bio)chemical businesses due to the regional availability of renewable feedstock, energy and existing infrastructure as well as the proximity to excellent knowledge centers and upscaling facilities. Within the last decades, several developments unravelled in the biobased circular transition. Exploring how these developments were initiated, the article means to show the opportunities that this region has to offer today. It also makes a strong argument for the economic potential arising from the creative combination of available feedstocks in an innovative ecosystem providing necessary frame-work conditions and fostering close intersectoral collaboration.
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This report focuses on the feasibility of the power-to-ammonia concept. Power-to-ammonia uses produced excess renewable electricity to electrolyze water, and then to react the obtained hydrogen with nitrogen, which is obtained through air separation, to produce ammonia. This process may be used as a “balancing load” to consume excess electricity on the grid and maintain grid stability. The product, ammonia, plays the role of a chemical storage option for excess renewable energy. This excess energy in the form of ammonia can be stored for long periods of time using mature technologies and an existing global infrastructure, and can further be used either as a fuel or a chemical commodity. Ammonia has a higher energy density than hydrogen; it is easier to store and transport than hydrogen, and it is much easier to liquefy than methane, and offers an energy chain with low carbon emissions.The objective of this study is to analyze technical, institutional and economic aspects of power-to-ammonia and the usage of ammonia as a flexible energy carrier.