Signing of Joint Research Agreement Between NGK Insulators and Chubu Electric Power for Practical Application of Ammonia-Fired Kilns

NGK Insulators, Ltd. (President: Shigeru Kobayashi; hereinafter "NGK") and Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. (President & Director: Kingo Hayashi; hereinafter "Chubu Electric Power") signed an agreement on February 20, 2026 regarding joint research for the practical application of kilns that burn ammonia. Through this joint research, we aim to achieve ammonia-based firing that emits no carbon dioxide (CO2), contributing to the achievement of carbon neutrality by 2050.

Ammonia-fired kilns for ceramics have not been commercialized to date, and the joint research will examine the challenges and solutions for applying ammonia as fuel in ceramic kilns.
NGK will promote the development of high-temperature (1400°C or higher) kiln-related equipment using regenerative burners (note) and other equipment capable of efficiently burning non-flammable ammonia. Chubu Electric Power will study how to supply ammonia to the kiln and how to treat the exhaust gas emitted from the kiln.
Preparations for testing facilities and other equipment are underway starting in FY2025, and full-scale combustion tests will begin in FY2026. The joint research project is planned to run through the end of FY2028.

As efforts are being made to reduce CO2 emissions in the industrial sector in order to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, there is a need to switch to non-fossil fuels such as hydrogen and ammonia, which do not emit CO2 when burned. Among the fuels, ammonia is expected to be a decarbonized energy source that can be implemented in society on an early stage, since its transportation and storage technologies have been well established. On the other hand, it has a slow combustion rate and is difficult to ignite. Additionally, it produces harmful nitrogen oxides (NOx) during combustion, presenting challenges that require further technological innovation for its utilization as a fuel.

NGK and Chubu Electric Power will aim for early social implementation of ammonia by leveraging the knowledge of both companies toward the realization of a decarbonized society.

(note) It is a burner that performs both combustion and exhaust through a ceramic heat storage element housed internally. By periodically switching between combustion and exhaust, it recovers waste heat from combustion gases via the heat storage element and uses that heat to preheat combustion air, resulting in high thermal efficiency.