Green ammonia for a carbon-free society
Green ammonia for a carbon-free society
The future of a carbon-free society relies on the alignment of the intermittent production of renewable energy (solar, wind, tidal, geothermal) with our continuous and increasing energy demands. In this context, ammonia offers unique opportunities due its high hydrogen content, known handling and existing infrastructure. If/when realised, green ammonia can reshape the current energy landscape by directly replacing fossil fuels in transportation, heating, electricity, etc. In addition, new economic opportunities will arise as many countries will inevitably become net-energy importers/exporters with the outlook of a renewable energy market similar to the current one based on fossil fuels.
When Fritz Haber and Carl Bosch developed an artificial nitrogen fixation process (the so-called Haber-Bosch process), they put ammonia in the centre of the first chemical global revolution, enabling the expansion of the population with its use as fertilisers and setting the current geo-political borders with its use in explosives. This lecture will present the technological, environmental and political challenges to enable a second ammonia revolution as portable long-term (days to months) energy storage vector versus the short-term storage (seconds to hours) offered by electrochemical storage (i.e. batteries).
Speakers
Professor Laura Torrente
Laura Torrente is a Professor at the Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology Department, University of Cambridge. Her work involves the development of sustainable chemical processes combining catalysis development and process design. Her group is particularly focused on the use of carbon-free ammonia as an energy vector to replace fossil fuels. She is a member of the UK Catalysis Hub and her research is being supported by the UK Research Council, European Commission and industry; having been recently awarded one of the most prestigious European Fellowships, an ERC Consolidator grant. She recently co-authored a policy brief document commissioned by the Royal Society entitled "Ammonia: zero-carbon fertiliser, fuel and energy store".
Booking information
In-person lectures at the Sidgwick Site as part of Alumni Festival cost £15 per person.
Booking for this event is now closed.
