A trio of green ammonia updates from Norway

By Julian Atchison on August 18, 2021

Porsgrunn decarbonisation partners form new organisation

Yara, Aker Clean Hydrogen and Statkraft executives at the launch of HEGRA in Herøya.
Click to learn more. Yara, Aker Clean Hydrogen and Statkraft executives at the launch of HEGRA in Herøya. Source: Yara.

Yara, Aker Clean Hydrogen and Norway’s state hydropower company Statkraft are all equal owners in HEGRA, a new entity that will steer electrification & decarbonisation at Yara’s Porsgrunn ammonia plant. HEGRA is short for Herøya Green Ammonia (Herøya is the peninsula on which the plant is located, in the municipality of Porsgrunn). Given the right funding and hydropower availability, the partners believe the project can be operational in 5-7 years.

HEGRA is more than a new industrial company, it is Norway’s largest climate initiative. The decarbonization project will reduce CO2-emissions by 800,000 tonnes annually, equivalent to 300,000 fossil-fueled cars. It marks the beginning of developing a Norwegian value chain for green ammonia and hydrogen.

HEGRA brings together Norway’s foremost experts in ammonia, project development and energy markets. Provided that power is available at site and the required public co-funding is in place, the project could be realized already 5-7 years from now.

Chair of HEGRA’s new Board Auke Lont, in Yara’s press release, 16 Aug 2021

St1 and Horisont Energi team up for green ammonia production

Artist's depiction of the proposed green ammonia facility in Finnmark.
Click to learn more. Artist’s depiction of the proposed green ammonia facility in Finnmark. Source: Horisont Energi.

Two Norwegian energy organisations – St1 and Horisont – will jointly develop a new project in Finnmark, northern Norway. The two partners will study the feasibility of green ammonia produced via wind-powered electrolysis, with St1 already having submitted a proposal for the 800 MW Davvi wind park. Alternative green technologies for ammonia production will also be explored.

Finnmark is already home to two clean ammonia projects:

  1. Grieg Maritime and Wartsila’s MS Ammonia collaboration, centered on the town of Berlevag, and
  2. Horisont’s proposed Barents Blue ammonia production plant, to be located in Hammerfest (currently an LNG hub).

North Ammonia: a new joint venture

Grieg Edge (a Grieg Maritime subsidiary) and energy investor Arendals Fossekompani launched a new joint venture this week: North Ammonia. Details are still to come, but the pair aim to have a green ammonia factory in Norway up-and-running by 2025.