Centrica and Mitsubishi Power Europe have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to explore development, construction and operation of an ammonia-fired power station at Bord Gáis Energy’s Whitegate combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) in Cork, Ireland.

The project would become Europe’s inaugural ammonia-fired power generation facility and one of only two such facilities in the world.

Bord Gáis Energy’s facility at Whitegate CCGT power station would serve as a global demonstration site for ammonia-fired power generation technology, providing insight into the feasibility and scalability of low carbon ammonia as a green fuel. The low carbon ammonia will be sourced through Centrica Energy’s global trading network.

Following the signing of the MOU, a project team is being established to commence project feasibility assessments.

Chris O’Shea, Group Chief Executive, Centrica said: “This is one of the many projects Centrica is working on to demonstrate how the hydrogen economy could work in practice. In this instance, we hope to be able to show how hydrogen could be stored and transported as low carbon ammonia, delivering cleaner energy for customers at the point of use. Centrica Energy continues to be a pioneer in supporting the development of these new international value chains and we’re delighted to have the expertise of our partners in Mitsubishi Power in delivering the project”.