Paving Way In Global Hydrogen Ammonia Safety Research

University of Newcastle

Recognised as a world leader in hydrogen ammonia safety, Laureate Professor Behdad Moghtaderi and his team at the Centre for Innovative Energy Technologies will partner with Singapore’s Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) on a project to help quantify and mitigate risk from large-scale hydrogen ammonia storage in Singapore.

profile shot of Professor Moghtaderi smiling at the camera

Professor Behdad Moghtaderi

The project is part of the Low-Carbon Energy Research (LCER) Programme – an initiative funded by the National Research Foundation (NRF) and hosted by A*STAR with an aim to build capabilities across the hydrogen supply chain so that Singapore can safely and economically import and use hydrogen in the country’s energy transition.

Ammonia has emerged as an ideal ‘carrier’ for hydrogen which is notoriously difficult to transport and store. Hydrogen is converted to ammonia for transport and storage and then converted back to hydrogen for use.

Professor Moghtaderi will build and develop a pilot-scale detonation tube to test explosion characteristics of ammonia to help mitigate risks of large-scale storage and inform safety buffers for new ammonia facilities in Singapore. The project is an application of the detonation tube facilities designed and developed on-site by Professor Moghtaderi and his team at the Newcastle Institute for Energy and Resources (NIER) located at the University of Newcastle.

Sharing in $43m funding, the project is one of six selected for its potential to accelerate the technical viability and commercial scalability of hydrogen-related technologies and to promote the adoption of hydrogen in Singapore’s energy transition.

/University Release. View in full here.