<article><p class="lead">Three Japanese firms, backed by Japan's trade and industry ministry (Meti), are planning to explore the possibility of co-firing blue ammonia at existing thermal power generation plants in Indonesia to help drive decarbonisation in the southeast country. </p><p>The group of three Japanese firms, including engineering firm Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI), trading house Mitsubishi and construction consultant Nippon Koei, will receive an unspecified amount of financial support from Meti to carry out a feasibility study for the value chain of the ammonia mixture to be utilised at a Suralaya coal-fired power plant.</p><p>The companies are considering producing fuel ammonia from oil and natural gas in Indonesia, utilising a carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology to offset carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. They are aiming to secure a contract to materialise the project by 2028 and start the co-burning in around 2030, MHI said. </p><p>MHI will separately cooperate with fellow Japanese engineering firm Tokyo Electric Power Services to conduct a feasibility study for another ammonia co-firing project in Indonesia, taking advantage of Meti's subsidies. The companies are considering co-burning ammonia, which is also produced from local oil and natural gas with CCS, at Indonesia's existing gas-fed plants and aiming to commence the project in the latter half of 2020s. It is still unclear which gas-fired power plant will be candidates for the study.</p><p>The feasibility studies for both projects will estimate the effect on CO2 emissions, including reduction, throughout the fuel ammonia value chain in Indonesia, where renewable output's share of electricity supplies could reach 23pc by 2025 and 28pc by 2035, MHI said. </p><p class="bylines">By Motoko Hasegawa</p></article>
