A chemical compound commonly used to boost crop yields could be the answer to helping the world increase its consumption of renewable energy.
In a world first, Siemens is opening a 1.5m pound pilot project in Oxfordshire employing ammonia as a new form of energy storage.
The German industrial firm hopes to prove that ammonia can be as useful as more established storage technologies, such as lithium-ion batteries, when it comes to managing the variable output of wind and solar power.
Photos: Bloomberg
照片：彭博社
The proof-of-concept facility at Harwell will turn electricity, water and air into ammonia without releasing carbon emissions. The ammonia is stored in a tank and later either burned to generate electricity, sold as a fuel for vehicles or for industrial purposes, such as refrigeration.
Dr Ian Wilkinson, programme manager for Siemens’ green ammonia demonstrator, said: “Storage is recognised as the enabler for intermittent renewable power.
“This is where we’re different from usual storage, we’re not just looking at power. Usually it’s [storage] just filling in the gaps when the sun’s not shining and the wind is not blowing. We’re looking at other uses, mobility and industrial uses.”
Photos: Bloomberg
照片：彭博社
Siemens believes ammonia has an advantage over other emerging storage technologies, such as “liquid air” and flow batteries, because it is repurposing existing technology and hardware.
The world produces about 170 million tonnes of ammonia a year, the vast majority of which is used by farmers as fertiliser. Most of that is made from natural gas, emitting greenhouse gas in the process, but the Harwell plant does not use fossil fuels.
While the compound was used as a fuel in Nasa hypersonic jets in the 1960s and some cars have been converted to run on it, Siemens does not expect it to be used directly in cars. The hydrogen in ammonia, however, can be extracted for use. “I see it supporting a hydrogen economy, hydrogen vehicles,” Wilkinson said.
Photos: Bloomberg
照片：彭博社
Given the demonstration scheme is relatively small in terms of storage and power generation capacity, Siemens is not expecting to make money from the trial. Instead the hope is to establish that the concept can work and prove useful.
If the technology took off, the German firm stands to benefit as it makes the electrolysers which use electricity to split water into oxygen, and the hydrogen that is a building block of ammonia.
Wilkinson said: “Siemens is looking at a whole range of storage technologies, including batteries and chemical storage [including ammonia].”
The Harwell facility opens on June 26, and was funded with 500,000 pounds by Siemens and 1 million pounds from government innovation agency Innovate UK.
(The Guardian)
通常用來提高農作物產量的一種化合物，可能為世界再生能源消費量的增加提供解答。
西門子將在英國牛津郡展開一個世界首見的先導計畫，造價一百五十萬英鎊，是運用氨氣作為一種新的儲能形式。
西門子這家德商工業公司希望證明，在處理風能和太陽能發電的變動輸出時，氨可以跟更為成熟的存儲技術（如鋰電池）一樣有用。
位於英國牛津郡哈威爾的這組概念驗證設備，將電力、水和空氣轉化為氨氣而不製造碳排放。氨氣儲存在儲罐中，之後可以燃燒來發電、當作車用燃料出售，或作為工業用途，例如製冷。
西門子綠色氨示範計畫負責人伊恩‧維金森博士表示：「儲能被公認是間歇性再生能源的推動因素。
「這是我們跟一般的儲能所不同的地方，我們不只是看電力。〔儲能〕通常只是在沒有陽光、沒有風可以發電的時候，用來填補空檔。我們正在研究其他的用法、其便攜性，以及工業上的用途。」
西門子認為，相較其他新興儲能技術，例如「液化空氣」儲能和液流電池，氨更具優勢，因為這是將現有的技術和硬體加以重新利用。
全世界每年生產約一‧七億噸的氨氣，其中絕大多數是在農業中用作肥料。這些氨氣大部分是由天然氣製成的，製造過程中會排放出溫室氣體，但在哈威爾的這座廠房卻不使用化石燃料。
儘管氨氣這化合物在一九六○年代，便應用在美國太空總署的超音速噴射機作為燃料，且有些汽車已經改裝成可用氨氣當燃料，但西門子並未計畫直接運用氨氣在汽車上。氨氣中的氫氣卻是可以被提取使用。「我認為它可以支持氫氣經濟、氫氣車」，維金森說。
由於這個示範計畫的儲能量和發電量相對較小，西門子並不期望這個試驗計畫可以賺錢；它所希望的，是能夠藉此確認這個概念可以行得通，且證明有用。
如果技術起飛，這家德國公司就會大發利市，因為該公司製造以電力把水分解成氧氣和氫氣的電解槽，而氫氣正是氨氣的基礎材料。
維金森說：「西門子正在研究各式各樣的存儲技術，包括電池和化學儲存〔包括氨氣〕。」
在哈威爾的這座工廠將於六月二十六日開張，資金來源是西門子出資的五十萬英鎊，以及英國政府創新機構Innovate UK 出資的一百萬英鎊。
（台北時報林俐凱編譯）
A: A mint Labubu doll was sold for a record 1.08 million Chinese yuan — or about US$150,300 — at an auction. B: That much for a doll? That’s insane. A: The character of toy company Pop Mart has sparked a global frenzy thanks to celebrity endorsements, like pop diva Rihanna and Blackpink member Lisa. B: Where can we admire all the Pop Mart dolls? A: The world’s third Pop Mart flagship store is located in Taipei’s Ximending area. Let’s go together. A: 一個薄荷色的「拉布布」玩偶在拍賣會上，拍出108萬人民幣天價、高達15萬美元！ B: 一個玩偶？這也太瘋狂啦。 A: 這個泡泡瑪特玩具公司旗下的角色正在全球掀起狂熱，而這都要感謝天后蕾哈娜、Blackpink的Lisa等名人的加持。 B: 哪裡可以看到泡泡瑪特推出的公仔啊？ A: 全球第三家泡泡瑪特旗艦店就在台北西門町，我們去逛逛吧。 （By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times／台北時報張迪）
A: What are some of the hottest auction items other than the Labubu doll? B: NBA player Stephen Curry’s basketball card, actress Jane Birkin’s Hermes “Birkin bag,” and Princess Diana’s dresses also attracted robust bidding recently. A: How much can a trading card cost? B: Curry’s Paris Olympics autograph card was sold for US$518,500, or NT$15.3 million. A: Wow, it broke the record held by MLB superstar Shohei Ohtani’s baseball card. That’s amazing. A: 除了 「拉布布」玩偶以外，還有哪些熱門拍賣品？ B: NBA球星史蒂芬柯瑞的球卡、女星珍柏金的原版愛馬仕「柏金包」、戴安娜王妃的禮服最近都引發競標。 A: 一張卡片能有多貴啊？ B: 哈這張印著柯瑞在巴黎奧運的簽名卡，拍出51萬多美元天價、高達台幣1,530萬！ A: 哇他打破了MLB球星大谷翔平球卡的紀錄，真是令人驚奇。 （By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times／台北時報張迪）
The traditional five-day workweek was introduced around a century ago and has since become the standard, along with punching in at 9am and leaving at 5pm. Recently, however, challenges to this formula have been increasing, particularly among young people. In the UK, 200 British companies have changed gears and decided to adopt a permanent four-day workweek for their employees. The new schedule will not cause any loss in pay, which is expected to result in greater employee satisfaction. Among those leading the charge for the new model are charities, marketing firms, and technology companies. Advocates of the policy say
Continued from yesterday（延續自昨日） https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/lang According to supporters, a four-day workweek is an effective way for companies to attract and keep employees. Productivity can even be improved by achieving the same output in fewer hours. The primary workforce of the future, adults between the ages of 18 and 34, are strong supporters of this pattern. More than three-quarters of them believe a four-day workweek will become common practice in five years, while 65 person say they reject a return to full-time office work. This group considers mental health and general well-being as their top priorities, and it seems certain that they will be
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