Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Mathematics ITWM
Ammonia is being discussed as a possible carrier for green hydrogen. In this context, Fraunhofer ITWM is developing software tools for model-based decision support with regard to technical and organizational issues. These tools are intended to ensure transparency and comparability of different solution approaches.
Hydrogen is considered an energy source of the future. However, transporting it over long distances – under high pressure or liquefied atcryogenic temperatures – is very costly compared to transporting fossil fuels. Currently, there is also a lack of suitable ships. The Fraunhofer flagship project »AmmonVektor« is looking for solutions to these logistical challenges – among other things, with expertise from our team at Fraunhofer ITWM. Our researchers are developing models for safe and efficient hydrogen logistics based on ammonia.
In its liquid form, it can be transported easily and with low energy consumption. Unlike hydrogen, a global transport infrastructure already exists for ammonia due to fertilizer production.Once it arrives at its destination, hydrogen can be recovered from the transported ammonia using suitable cracking reactors. This is why ammonia is referred to here as an »Energy-Vektor«. However, it can also be used directly.
