With the world headed into a low-carbon energy future , Alaska, rich in fossil fuels, is trying to hitch a ride on the green bandwagon. A joint project underway by the University of Alaska Fairbanks and the US Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory is looking at whether ammonia could be made from vast proven natural gas reserves on the North Slope with the hydrogen in the ammonia used as a carbon-free fuel. The research is being supported by the US Department of Energy’s Advanced Manufacturing Office. “It’s an interesting concept,” said Corri Feige, Alaska’s commissioner of natural resources. But Feige noted there could be technical problems with liquid ammonia as it is “very corrosive to steel,” and introducing it into the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System, or TAPS, for shipment “could have detrimental effects.” Others are interested in Alaska’s ammonia-to-hydrogen connection, however. Tim Fitzpatrick, spokesperson for the Alaska LNG […]