On Tuesday, November 22, the second symposium of FY2022 “The Potential of Ammonia to Pioneer the Future of a Decarbonized Society” was held at Hyogo Prefecture Citizens’Hall, hosted by the Institute for Policy Analysis and Social Innovation, University of Hyogo, and co-hosted by the Institute for Industrial Research, Kwansei Gakuin University and the Hydrogen Energy Joint Research Center, University of Hyogo. The symposium was attended by approximately 150 people both in person and online.

The symposium centered around “The Potential of Ammonia to Pioneer the ‘Future’ of a Decarbonized Society. In the electric powered world, there is a growing view that the use of fossil fuels must be maintained through co-firing with hydrogen-derived ammonia as a complementary fuel in coal-fired power plants in order to build a decarbonized society. Many other things need to be considered for a decarbonized society. This symposium focused in particular on medium- and long-term issues related to power generation projects, with experts and practitioners from various fields taking the stage for discussion.

President Isao Ota gave the opening remarks. In his opening remarks, President Ota said, “At our university, we are conducting research on hydrogen energy, which is broadly defined as ‘environmental energy,’ and in that sense, today\\\\\\\'s topic, ‘The Potential of Ammonia,’ is of great interest to us. Ammonia is good in that it does not emit CO? when burned, but there are various issues such as handling problems and difficulties in combustion. I am looking forward to hearing about these issues at this symposium.”

Next, the moderator, Professor Shinichi Kusanagi, Director of the Institute for Policy Analysis and Social Innovation, explained the purpose of the symposium and introduced the speakers.

Part 1: Lectures
The keynote speech in Part 1 was given by Mr. Shigeru Muraki, Advisor to Tokyo Gas Co., Ltd. and Chairman of the Clean Fuels Ammonia Association of Japan, on the topic of “The Role of Ammonia and Hydrogen toward Carbon Neutrality. Mr. Muraki spoke about the current status of ammonia, including the basic hydrogen strategy scenario, electricity demand and power source composition in FY2030, hydrogen energy carriers, utilization technologies related to ammonia, and clean fuel ammonia implementation plans.

This was followed by presentations by five panelists.
Mr. Futoshi Igawa, Research Director of the Coal Group, Fossil Energy and International Cooperation Unit, Institute of Energy Economics, Japan, took the podium to speak on “Toward a Decarbonized Society: The Current State of Coal”. Mr. Igawa spoke about global coal consumption trends, global coal-fired power generation trends, the fact that Europe is not decarbonizing but rather phasing out coal-fired power generation, and the fact that Russia\’s invasion of Ukraine has now made it impossible to move away from thermal power generation.

Mr. Teru Kurihara, General Manager of Corporate Planning Department (in charge of IR and ESG) of J-POWER (Japan Power Development Co., Ltd.), gave a lecture titled “J-POWER Group\’s efforts toward carbon neutrality and realization of a hydrogen society”. In his speech, he talked about the roadmap toward carbon neutrality in 2050, options for CO? reduction in thermal power generation, the concept of a vision for hydrogen utilization with gasification of solid fuels such as coal and biomass as core technology, the need for blue hydrogen to realize a hydrogen society, the CO?-free hydrogen supply chain, and verification testing efforts. He also talked about the CO?-free hydrogen utilization using coal, including initiatives for demonstration tests.
Mr. Koji Saito, General Manager of the Energy & Environment Planning Office, Western Electric Power Company, gave a lecture titled “Efforts of the Kansai Electric Power Group toward Realization of a Zero Carbon Society” and talked about the recent electric power situation, basic characteristics of electricity, reasons leading to the supply and demand crunch, climate change issues and challenges toward carbon neutrality, and businesses and efforts of the Kansai Electric Power Group. The lecture also covered issues related to climate change and carbon neutrality, as well as the business and initiatives of the Kansai Electric Power Group.
Professor Minoru Nakamura, an advisor to Pasona Group Inc. and a specially-appointed professor at the university\’s Institute for Policy Analysis and Social Innovation, gave a lecture titled “Perspectives Toward a Decarbonized Society. Professor Nakamura identified three key issues for building a decarbonized society: S+3E (Safety + Energy Security (self-sufficiency), Economic Efficiency (economic efficiency), and Environmental (environmental compatibility)), geopolitical perspectives, and the international political situation and its impact on the domestic economy and society. He also mentioned two things that are required for the construction of a decarbonized society: an attitude of discerning the essence with a multifaceted viewpoint, and the improvement of literacy. “We need to think about what is important, what we can do, and what is the best choice in this democratic society, and act accordingly, considering whether we are taking the scientifically correct measures, including natural and social sciences,” he concluded.

Professor On Mineshige, Director of the Hydrogen Energy Joint Research Center, Graduate School of Engineering, also of TUAT, gave a lecture titled “Chemical Properties of Ammonia and Issues for Full-Scale Utilization,” introducing the use of ammonia as a hydrogen carrier, ammonia as a chemical substance, ammonia and the human body, safety measures for large-scale utilization of ammonia, safety measures for liquid ammonia tanks, ammonia production systems, supply chain construction, and ammonia pipelines. Prof. Mineshige explained that ammonia can be easily liquefied at room temperature, making it an effective carrier for hydrogen, the next generation energy source, but that it also requires safety, production and supply chain development, high durability (corrosion prevention technology), and security systems for the future, as well as human resource development. The cost of the project needs to be estimated by taking into account these factors.

Part 2: Panel Discussion
In Part 2, Professor Munenori Nomura of Kwansei Gakuin University\’s School of Economics began by commenting on the reports of the five speakers in Part 1. Mr. Nomura then asked questions to each of the speakers.

Finally, Professor Kusanagi gave his closing remarks. In his remarks, Professor Kusanagi said, “I would like to raise awareness of issues in relation to the SDGs, and also value the fusion of the humanities and sciences. He added, “We would like to use this opportunity to hold the third symposium on March 4, 2023 (Saturday) at 1:00 p.m., again jointly with the Institute for Industrial Research, Kwansei Gakuin University, with the main theme of how to control the rising price of electricity. Methanation, which artificially produces methane gas by synthesizing hydrogen and carbon dioxide, is now well known.

Research on the artificial production of synthetic fuels such as gasoline and fuels is also gaining momentum. Once these are realized, consumers will be able to achieve decarbonization while maintaining their existing lifestyles. This is one future to look forward to. This is the kind of research we intend to pursue, and we hope you will look forward to it.

The event was covered in an article by Professor Shinichi Kusanagi, Director of the Institute for Policy Science, in the December 19 edition of Denki Shimbun, the leading trade newspaper in the electric power industry.

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