“Aurubis views itself as responsible for helping shape the green transformation in industry, which is why we’re laying the groundwork for new, fossil-free energy sources,” said Aurubis CEO, Roland Harings.
To achieve the transition to comprehensive sustainability, Germany's industry needs new, climate-neutral energy sources. This applies in particular to the energy-intensive production of metals. In turn, secure metal raw materials are crucial to the success of the green transformation. Without energy security there can be no raw materials transition, and without raw materials security there can be no energy transition. The expansion of supply cooperations and partnerships for alternative, low-emission energy sources is therefore an important contribution to the German federal government's goal of advancing energy security.
Ammonia is composed of nitrogen and hydrogen and burns without generating any CO2. The ammonia used in Aurubis’ testing arrived in Hamburg as part of a joint hydrogen project between the UAE and Germany.In October 2022, ADNOC delivered low-carbon ammonia produced with natural gas to Hamburg by container vessel. Green ammonia made using renewable energy is not currently available on the market in sufficient quantities for industrial applications.
During the test series, which ran for several months, Aurubis successfully used ammonia as an energy source in the copper wire rod production facility. The facility processes copper cathodes into copper wire rod at temperatures of over 1 100° C. The wire rod is the precursor for products such as electricity and telecommunication cables, which play a central role in the energy transition and digitalisation.
“The successful testing of ammonia in copper wire rod production proved that from a technical standpoint, we are capable of using this energy source as an admixture on an industrial scale,” Harings said. The roughly 20% ammonia admixture target Aurubis originally envisioned proved unfeasible in view of environmental regulations and high product quality standards, however. As a result, Aurubis does not plan to pursue the direct use of ammonia as a fuel in this area of application. The company is pushing hydrogen use instead, which has been successfully tested in other areas of copper production. “In hydrogen derivative ammonia and in hydrogen itself, we see great opportunities for saving natural gas and as such avoiding CO2 emissions,” Harings emphasised.
In addition to its use as a fuel, ammonia has the ideal properties for serving as a hydrogen carrier. Energy can be efficiently transported over great distances and stored using ammonia, since it offers high energy density with the same volume – taking up less space. The technology used to recover the hydrogen from the ammonia by splitting the gas back into hydrogen and nitrogen is called a cracker. Aurubis is already reviewing the potential for developing an ammonia cracker. This would allow the further expansion of the hydrogen value chain with partners like ADNOC in the future, subject to economic viability.
As part of a joint research project with partners from industry and the scientific community, Aurubis will now focus on the direct use of hydrogen in the copper wire rod production plant. “Through intensive research and development, we will continue to identify the potential of ammonia as a hydrogen carrier – and especially the potential of hydrogen itself – as a carbon-free energy source and further advance its use in our production,” Harings said. “The findings from the ammonia test series serve as a valuable foundation here and are another milestone along our path to carbon-neutral production.”