Reza Fazeli, Llewelyn Hughes, Fiona Beck. 2026. Co-combustion of Ammonia in Coal-fired Power Plants in ASEAN. Energy Policy.

Southeast Asia is home to a large and growing fleet of coal power plants. One proposed policy response is to support the deployment of ammonia co-combustion technology to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from coal power generation while continuing to meet growing electricity demand. We quantify the emissions reduction potential of ammonia co-combustion for the ASEAN coal fleet, taking into account the carbon intensity of ammonia production across four different ammonia production technologies. Our results show rigorous assessment of CO2 mitigation measures is critical in enabling policy-makers to choose ‘least regrets’ decarbonisation pathways for emissions intensive power generation technologies.

Yuma Osaki & Llewelyn Hughes. 2025. Japan: Putting Hydrogen at the Core of Its Decarbonisation Strategy. In: Quitzow, R., Zabanova, Y. (eds) The Geopolitics of Hydrogen. Studies in Energy, Resource and Environmental Economics. Springer, Cham.

Japan has led efforts to promote hydrogen and derivatives as options for supporting decarbonisation globally. Domestically, the Japanese government has positioned hydrogen as playing an important role in helping achieve the country’s 2050 net-zero emissions commitment. The government is supporting technology development on both the supply side and in end-use sectors, notably in relation to power generation. The Japanese government is also championing hydrogen internationally, including by promoting it as a decarbonisation option in Southeast Asia, whilst examining the feasibility of different options for enabling maritime trade in hydrogen. This suggests that new patterns of trade and investment may emerge, although there remain crucial questions about commercial feasibility.

Llewelyn Hughes. 2025. Australia's Emerging Hydrogen Economy: In Search of Export Opportunities. In: Quitzow, R., Zabanova, Y. (eds) The Geopolitics of Hydrogen. Studies in Energy, Resource and Environmental Economics. Springer, Cham.

The Australian government foresees an opportunity to scale the hydrogen economy, centred on exporting hydrogen and associated vectors to the Asia–Pacific region. Building on its legacy as an exporter of fossil-fuel commodities, the government has favoured a technology-neutral approach with support for renewable and fossil-based hydrogen production and a strong focus on exports. Within Australia’s broader efforts to decarbonize its economy, considerations revolve around which role hydrogen may play in the domestic energy transition, the potential size of its future hydrogen export market, and what opportunities exist for value creation along the entire hydrogen supply chain. In this chapter, we provide an overview of hydrogen development in Australia. We begin with a brief overview of Australia’s climate and energy policy and its position in regional and global energy markets. We then discuss the state of hydrogen supply and demand in the domestic economy, before outlining the main policy initiatives and stakeholders. We then consider the external dimensions of Australia’s national hydrogen policy, which is closely linked to the opportunity for exports of hydrogen and associated vectors with low-carbon intensity.

Llewelyn Hughes and Christian Downie. 2023. Bilateral Finance Organizations and Stranded Asset Risk in Coal Technology Finance: the Case of Japan. Climate Policy 23 (1), 41-56.

We evaluate the treatment of climate-related financial risk by bilateral finance organizations and related policymaking bodies involved in the design and implementation of thermal coal power generation technology financing. We differentiate between three approaches that organizations can adopt to assess climate change risk. In the first, the organization assesses climate risk and includes consideration of stranded asset risk. In the second, the organization assesses climate risk but does not take into account stranded asset risk. In the third, an organization does not explicitly consider climate risk although it may use alternative criteria for deciding whether to support an investment, such as the broader environmental implications of a proposed project. We find that while some Japanese lending and policy-setting bodies take climate risk into account, none are required to consider the risk that infrastructure investments may become stranded.

Matthew Stocks, Reza Fazeli, Llewelyn Hughes, Fiona J. Beck. 2022. Global Emissions Implications from Co-combusting Ammonia in Coal Fired Power Stations: An Analysis of the Japan-Australia Supply Chain, Journal of Cleaner Production. Vol. 336, 130092.

This study considers the emissions implications of co-combusting imported ammonia in coal-fired power stations, adopting a supply chain approach, estimating the emissions reduction potential of 20% ammonia co-combustion in coal-fired power stations in the country of use, and the emissions associated with ammonia production in the country of origin. The paper considers the emissions implications of using different ammonia production technologies: Haber-Bosch (HB) ammonia production with hydrogen generated from steam methane reforming using natural gas (SMR), with and without carbon capture and storage (CCS); Haber-Bosch ammonia production with hydrogen generated from renewable sources; and fully renewable electricity generated ammonia. Based on the results, different policy options are suggested for managing the emissions associated with a Japan-Australia ammonia supply chain.