Green ammonia imports could supplement long-duration energy storage in the UK

Abstract

Abstract There is growing recognition of the need for long-duration energy storage to cope with low frequency (i.e. seasonal to multi-annual) variability in renewable energy supplies. Recent analysis for the UK has estimated that 60–100 TWh of hydrogen storage could be required to provide zero-carbon backup for renewable energy supplies in 2050. However, the analysis did not consider the potential role of green energy imports as a supplement to domestic energy storage. Using a global spatially-explicit model of green hydrogen/ammonia production and shipping we estimate the lowest import costs for green ammonia to the UK, and compare them with the levelized costs of energy storage across scenarios of varying domestic renewable energy production. The results indicate that imported green ammonia could offer a cost-comparable alternative to domestic hydrogen production, storage and power generation, whilst increasing energy system resilience through supply diversification, at a similar or cheaper delivered energy cost compared to a hydrogen-only storage system. In countries lacking the geological potential for low-cost hydrogen storage, green ammonia imports could have an even more significant role.