Partner workshop held in Greifswald on 31 January 2019

Rese­arch consor­tium wants to lay the foun­da­tion for zero-emis­sion mobility

The CAMPFIRE consor­tium, which includes experts from rese­arch, industry and poli­tics, aims to develop tech­nical solu­tions for zero-emis­sion marine mobi­lity in the near future, which could become a core element of the economy in Meck­len­burg-Western Pome­rania. At a work­shop held today, 31 January, at the Leibniz Insti­tute for Plasma Science and Tech­no­logy (INP), the experts discussed the stra­tegy for the project’s prac­tical implementation.

Greifs­wald, 31 January 2019. It is a clear vision for the economic future of Meck­len­burg-Western Pome­rania: local use of elec­tri­city gene­rated from rene­wable energy sources could increase signi­fi­cantly and serve as a fuel for new tech­no­lo­gies. Based on a compre­hen­sive concept deve­loped with input from 30 project part­ners from rese­arch, industry and poli­tics, the CAMPFIRE consor­tium, which was founded over a year ago, aims to effect a struc­tural change in the region of Northeast region. CAMPFIRE combines the know-how of various rese­arch insti­tutes and compa­nies from the energy sector, the mari­time economy and the ferti­liser industry. The central element of the concept is the produc­tion of green ammonia and its utili­sa­tion for both emis­sion-free ship propul­sion and sustainable ferti­liser produc­tion. Experts already consider this raw mate­rial, which can be produced from locally gene­rated wind or solar power, water and air, as the ‘crude oil of the future’.

But the energy conver­sion processes in ammonia produc­tion will become econo­mic­ally viable only with the inte­gra­tion of novel elec­tro­ce­ramic nanol­ayers. CAMPFIRE aims to achieve this tech­no­lo­gical breakth­rough within a five-year imple­men­ta­tion phase. The consor­tium has applied for funding from the WIR! – Wandel durch Inno­va­tion in der Region programme of the Federal Ministry of Educa­tion and Rese­arch (BMBF). In addi­tion to INP, project coor­di­na­tors include the Insti­tute for Climate Protec­tion, Energy and Mobi­lity (IKEM) and the Univer­sity of Applied Sciences Stral­sund (HOST).

Western Pomerania’s state secre­tary, Patrick Dahle­mann (SPD), under­lines the importance of the CAMPFIRE project for the region: ‘Here in Western Pome­rania, this is a ground­brea­king project that will have ripple effects across the state and can jump­start new economic acti­vity. For Meck­len­burg-Western Pome­rania, there is a great oppor­tu­nity to combine two important fields: the energy sector and the mari­time economy. Zero-emis­sion ship­ping will also protect our country’s most important natural treasure: the Baltic Sea.’

Dr. Donald Höpfner, mana­ging director of the Rostock branch of the ferti­liser producer YARA, says: ‘Toge­ther with our consor­tium part­ners, we want to develop new tech­nical solu­tions for the produc­tion of green ammonia at the Rostock site. This approach will not only protect the envi­ron­ment; it will also streng­then the regional economy.’ Until now, ammonia has had to be imported mainly by sea.

CAMPFIRE project manager Dr Angela Kruth has a posi­tive outlook on the project’s deve­lo­p­ment so far: ‘The consor­tium has grown steadily, and we have gotten an over­whel­ming response from the busi­ness commu­nity.’ There is curr­ently inter­na­tional inte­rest in the poten­tial of ammonia-based inno­va­tions. For example, the chemical combi­na­tion of nitrogen and hydrogen can already power ultra-modern vehicle engines and turbines. In other model projects, ammonia has been used to secure the energy supply in remote areas. Because it can serve as an excel­lent energy storage medium, ammonia also repres­ents an inter­me­diate step in the utili­sa­tion of hydrogen. If it were possible to develop small-scale produc­tion processes for ammonia on the basis of new elec­tro­ce­ramic compon­ents that could be connected directly to wind farms, this would be the breakth­rough, the INP rese­ar­cher notes. ‘But as things stand now, further rese­arch is neces­sary to tailor vehicles, energy systems, legal frame­work condi­tions and safety concepts to the new energy source. We will also need to increase public accep­tance of ammonia.’