June 27, 2023
Notice Regarding World’s First Successful Trial Demonstration of Using Fuel Ammonia forCombustion in a Glass Melting Furnace
Taiyo Nippon Sanso Corporation (“TNSC,” President Kenji Nagata), a Japanese industrial gas company
in Nippon Sanso Holdings Group, conducted the world’s first trial demonstration of using fuel ammonia
for combustion in a glass melting furnace from June 18 to 19 under the development of ammonia
combustion technology for industrial furnaces project (“Project”) commissioned by New Energy andIndustrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO).
The trial demonstration was carried out using an ammonia-oxygen combustion (*1) burner installed in
the architectural glass production facility at AGC Inc.’s AGC Yokohama Technical Center. The
demonstration evaluated glass quality and the impact on furnace materials, and also verified items suchas flame temperature (*2), furnace temperature (*3) and NOx suppression effects. The demonstration
obtained the result that NOx concentration in the exhaust gas was below the environmental standard
even while maintaining the glass furnace temperature.
In fiscal 2023, the Project plans to verify the technology by conducting ammonia fuel equipment testingunder various conditions on multiple occasions. From fiscal 2024 onward, testing will be in scaled-up burners
and through trial demonstration in glass melting furnaces at other AGC bases to determine the scope thatammonia fuel technology can be used, and aims are for fully-fledged introduction in glass melting furnaces
from fiscal 2026 onward.

Figure 1: The glass melting furnace used in this trial demonstration (left)
and the fuel ammonia storage tank (right).
1. Background
Japan has set a goal to become carbon neutral by 2050 and one of the issues in realizing this is whether it canreduce CO2 emissions in production processes in the materials industry. The current raw material melting
process in glass manufacture uses fossil fuels such as natural gas and heavy oil to maintain furnace
temperatures at 1,600˚C or higher, so developing an innovative glass melting technology that enables use ofa fuel with a light environmental burden is urgent.

1Against this background, NEDO has been working on the Project (*4) since fiscal 2021 to develop fuelammonia combustion technology for industrial furnaces. The Project period is from the end of December
2021 through to March 2026 and AGC, TNSC, NEDO and Tohoku University are working jointly ontechnological development.
2. Results
Ammonia is a fuel that does not emit CO2 as only nitrogen and water are produced during combustion. A
supply chain has already been built for ammonia, mainly for chemical fertilizer applications, and there areno significant technical challenges regarding its storage or transportation. On the other hand, issues regarding
the use of ammonia for combustion include that it has a low flame temperature and when combustion occurswith use of excessive oxygen, NOx emissions increase.
To resolve this issue, mainly Tohoku University and NEDO have worked to develop a low NOx combustion
technology by moving ahead on lab testing and various types of evaluation to elucidate NOx formation
characteristics in ammonia-oxygen combustion. TNSC is developing an ammonia-oxygen burner capable ofachieving low NOx combustion technology.
This world first trial demonstration was carried out over two days on June 18 and 19, 2023, in the architectural
glass production facility at the AGC Yokohama Technical Center in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture wherea dedicated ammonia-oxygen combustion burner had been installed. Tests were carried out under various
conditions and compared with existing combustion methods, and verification was made regarding the impact
on glass quality and furnace materials, flame temperature, furnace temperature, NOx suppression effects andmore.

100% ammonia - pure oxygen combustion
100% city gas - pure oxygen combustion
Figure 2: Burner flames inside a glass melting furnace2

3. Future Plans
For fiscal 2023, the plan is to continue using the actual furnace in the architectural glass production facility
at the AGC Yokohama Technical Center and verify the technology while conducting trial demonstrations
using fuel ammonia under various conditions. From fiscal 2024 onward, testing is planned to be carried out
in scaled-up burners and through trial demonstrations in glass melting furnaces at other AGC bases todetermine the scope that ammonia fuel technology can be used, and aims are for fully-fledged introduction
from fiscal 2026 onward. In the future, consideration will be given to deploying the technology in materials
other than glass, such as steel or aluminum, so that it can contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions inproduction processes broadly across the materials industry.
Notes:*1 Oxygen combustion
Combustion using oxygen, or gas with a higher concentration of oxygen, as the combustionsupporting gas.
*2 Flame temperature
Temperature of flame burning at burner tip installed in furnace*3 Furnace temperature
Temperature of gas inside the furnace and inner wall surface*4 Project
Project name: Technology Development for the Utilization and Production of Ammonia as Fuel
Project period: From fiscal 2021 to fiscal 2025 (five years)
Project overview: https://www.nedo.go.jp/english/activities/activities_ZZJP_100204.html[Company Overview]
Taiyo Nippon Sanso Corporation
Business description: Manufacture and sale of various industrial gases such as oxygen, nitrogen, and argon,
LP gas, gas for medical uses, and specialty gases, manufacture and sale of welding equipment and materials,
gas-related devices, and, air separation equipment, assembly, processing, inspection of electrical components,and equipment maintenance
Established: October 30, 1910
Incorporated: February 4, 2020
Capital: 1.5 billion yen
Shareholder: Nippon Sanso Holdings Corporation (Investment ratio: 100%)
Revenue: 420.4 billion yen*
*Note: This figure shows the revenue of Japan for Nippon Sanso Holdings Corporation in FYE2023

Taiyo Nippon Sanso Corporation
Tnsc.Info@tn-sanso.co.jp

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