A pioneering project involving Flogas Britain, a DCC Energy business, has successfully developed and tested the world’s first one-megawatt ammonia-fuelled steam boiler, marking a significant step forward in the development of lower‑carbon energy solutions for industry.
The Amburn project, a collaboration between Flogas Britain and Cardiff University, has progressed over three years from early-stage laboratory testing to a fully operational one-megawatt system, recently tested at DNV’s Spadeadam site in the UK.
Backed by £3.6 million of funding from the UK Department for Energy Security and Net Zero through its Industrial Fuel Switching programme, the project demonstrates the potential for ammonia to provide a viable pathway to decarbonising industrial heat.
Industrial heat remains one of the most challenging areas to decarbonise, particularly for businesses operating off the gas grid. The Amburn project has shown that ammonia can be used as part of a flexible fuel mix to help address this challenge, offering a potential route to lower carbon emissions while maintaining operational efficiency.
During testing, the system successfully generated steam across a range of operating conditions and fuel blends, demonstrating high efficiency and low emissions performance. The project also achieved several technical milestones, including operation at up to 1.4 MW and high levels of ammonia substitution within the fuel mix.
The project highlights the role of collaboration between industry and academia in advancing practical decarbonisation solutions. Cardiff University led research into ammonia combustion, while Flogas Britain contributed to the engineering and deployment of the system, including pipework, control systems and safety infrastructure.
The consortium also included ERM as project manager, with funding support from the UK Government’s Net Zero Innovation Portfolio.
