Barents Blue project updates

By Julian Atchison on April 13, 2022

Key licenses and approvals awarded

The future Barents Blue ammonia production plant. Owners and developers Horisont Energi have just been awarded a long-term storage license for emissions under the Barents Sea. Source: Horisont.
Click to learn more. The future Barents Blue ammonia production plant. Owners and developers Horisont Energi have just been awarded a long-term storage license for emissions under the Barents Sea. Source: Horisont.

Earlier this month, Horisont Energi announced it had been awarded a share of the Polaris CO2 storage license, formalising access to a long-term sequestration site for emissions from the future Barents Blue ammonia plant in Markoppneset, Norway. The Polaris project itself has been under development since 2020, with partners Equinor and Vår Energi signing development agreements with Horisont last year. Another key license – zoning approval from the Hammerfest municipality for the ammonia plant – was granted in December last year, with a public consultation process still ongoing.

Developing an import terminal in Rotterdam

Koole’s existing storage & import facilities at Pernis, Rotterdam. Source: Koole Terminals.
Click to learn more. Koole’s existing storage & import facilities at Pernis, Rotterdam. Source: Koole Terminals.

Horisont and Koole Terminals will develop an ammonia import terminal and storage facility at the Port of Rotterdam, based on Koole’s existing infrastructure. The partners will look to leverage Koole’s extensive storage capabilities and direct access to different transport types (barge, truck & pipeline) to service ammonia demand throughout northwest Europe.

As Horisont Energi and our partners work towards developing Europe’s first world-scale clean ammonia project, it is essential to establish relationships with key storage, handling and transport partners in the region, to ensure our clean ammonia can reach all potential clients.

Horisont Energi CEO Bjørgulf Haukelidsæter Eidesen in the official press release, 8 Oct 2021

New partner bring its expertise

In January, German energy giant E.ON acquired a 25% stake in Horisont. As part of the agreement, E.ON will bring their expertise in carbon capture & liquefaction to the Barents Blue project, filling in a crucial part of Horisont’s envisioned clean ammonia value chain in far-north Norway. For their part, E.ON are seeking to become a “one-stop shop” for decarbonisation strategies, particularly site-optimised carbon capture. E.ON’s ambitions also extend to renewable hydrogen, with a huge off-take agreement (5 million tonnes per year) signed with Fortescue Future Industries last month.