Mapping the transition: ammonia as a front-runner hydrogen carrier in Europe’s energy system

Ammonia, traditionally used in fertilizer production, has emerged as a frontrunner energy vector for hydrogen and an energy source for decarbonizing many practices across the mobility, power, and industrial sectors. Within the conceptualized global hydrogen value chain, towards which many countries are cooperating, ammonia, as an energy carrier, offers the advantage of an established supply chain infrastructure, easier and cheaper storage conditions, and a higher volumetric energy density. This has led to an expansion of its role, which in turn requires significant development and adaptations within its supply chain infrastructure. In this research, a compiled geospatial dataset of ammonia infrastructure within Europe was developed using Python. Taking into consideration the colors of ammonia, data for ammonia import and export ports, production and cracking sites, pipelines, and EU railways were collected across a wide range of literature, from which an ammonia infrastructural map was developed. This allowed for the identification of current key industrial clusters and possible future ones, in accordance with ammonia, low-emission fuel, and, importantly, hydrogen development plans. Currently, the majority of ammonia production facilities are located near their targeted end-use, in other words, near agri-business clusters. While the transition to “cleaner fuel” is shifting development focus towards coastal and peripheral European regions, resulting in the establishment of a maritime-oriented ammonia network. The results present two major ammonia corridors: a North Sea corridor that positions ports within Belgium and the Netherlands as importing hubs, and Norway as a large exporting country. Germany, a country with ports on the North and Baltic seas, is not part of the corridor but is forecast to have an aiding hand in Europe’s ammonia imports. The second corridor identified is a southwest corridor that starts in Spain. Despite the ambitious plans for building ammonia pipelines across some European countries, trucks and inland ammonia barges remain the frontrunners for now. Despite the presence of leading regions and emerging clusters, which are politically supported on the national and EU level, a significant infrastructural gap remains a reality.