Fellowship Spotlight
This fellowship will explore integrated ammonia-fired boiler systems designed to support rural deployment, addressing challenges around storage and distribution while improving safety and commercial viability.
Dr Jordan Davies is a Research Associate at Cardiff University’s School of Engineering working to decarbonise industrial heat and power. He works with ammonia, a carbon-free fuel that is easy to store and transport and can be burned instead of natural gas or propane to reduce CO2 emissions. Much of his research focuses on developing methods to effectively burn ammonia at industrial scale while keeping harmful emissions of NOx and N2O in check. A Pembrokeshire native, Jordan is equally happy at the beach or in a good coffee shop as in the combustion lab.
“I feel incredibly proud and honoured to receive a prestigious UK-HyRES Fellowship, and it provides an excellent opportunity for me to progress towards being an independent researcher. It comes at a critical time when we’ve recently made great strides in demonstrating ammonia can be used as a fuel under industrial conditions, and in doing so discovered the remaining barriers preventing our research from having real-world impact. This funding allows me to carry out the research needed to unlock its industrial potential, which includes high system cost and complexity, fossil fuel ignition, material degradation and cost-effective control of NOx emissions.
“During my undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineering at Cardiff University, I carried out a small project modelling alternative fuels such as hydrogen and ammonia and realised I loved research. It inspired me to apply to do a PhD where I learnt a huge amount about not only ammonia combustion, but also the wider energy landscape. It taught me that there is no single silver bullet to reduce all emissions, and highlighted the challenges associated with decarbonising off-grid industry, which is particularly difficult for hydrogen to reach. Ammonia is well suited to this sector, and I’m passionate about making its widespread use a reality. I’m very excited to have the opportunity to play a role in translating research into hydrogen and alternative liquid fuels from the laboratory to the real world, which is exactly what this Fellowship gives me.”
Dr Jordan Davies, Cardiff University
