Hiromi Ishii (Director, Power Systems Project Engineering Department, Steam Power Maintenance Innovation (SPMI) Business Division/MHI) (1st from bottom right) and Yuthana Charoenwong (Managing Director/ BLCP) (1st from bottom left) together with representatives from BPP, EGCO Group, JERA and Mitsubishi Corporation at signing ceremony. Image credit: MHI

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries will conduct a feasibility study for the introduction of ammonia co-firing at a coal-fired thermal power plant in Thailand operated by independent power producer BLCP Power Limited.

Located in Rayong province in southeastern Thailand, the 1,434MW BLCP Power Station comprises two subcritical coal-fired boilers that began operations in 2006 and 2007.

The study aims to achieve up to 20% ammonia co-firing to decarbonise the existing power plant, as well as to establish an integrated fuel value chain from procurement to utilisation.

The study forms part of an MoU signed during the Japan-Thailand Energy Policy Dialogue in Bangkok on 12 January 2023. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI), supported by its power solutions brand Mitsubishi Power, will conduct the study on ammonia burners, boiler facilities and equipment necessary for ammonia co-firing.

As part of the MoU, project partner JERA will examine the procurement and transportation of ammonia fuel, available port facilities, as well as ammonia receiving and storage facilities.

Several Thai and Japanese organisations are also involved in the project, including BPP and EGCO Group from Thailand, and Mitsubishi Corporation from Japan.

Thailand’s government has committed to reach carbon neutrality by 2050, and net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2065.

To help reach these goals, MHI and Mitsubishi Power have supplied more than 25GW of power generation equipment to Thailand, including facilities currently under construction.