Borealis and Hynamics to jointly develop low-carbon ammonia in France

Borealis, a leading European chemicals manufacturer, and Hynamics, an EDF subsidiary specializing in decarbonised hydrogen, have signed a new MoU to install 30 MW of grid-powered electrolysers at Borealis’ fertiliser production plant in Ottmarsheim, France. Powered by the French electricity grid – which has one of the lowest carbon intensities in the world – the demonstration project would result in the production of 24,000 tonnes per year of low-carbon ammonia by 2025-26. Although ammonia produced in Ottmarsheim is principally used for fertiliser production, other possible end use will be explored. Borealis is also a participant in Yara’s Le Havre blue ammonia project.

“This innovative project through the use of electrolytic hydrogen as a decarbonisation process will be the first in France by its scale. This is an opportunity for our region, which is positioning itself on a national level as a pioneer in the decarbonisation of the fertilizer sector. I salute our two partners, thanks to whom the Grand Est stands out as a model in the fight for energy transition.”

President of the Grand Est region Jean Rottner in Borealis’ official press release, 30 Nov 2021

Building the foundations for industrial scale-up

Ottmarsheim (30 MW) joins the growing list of industrial demonstration sites for electrolytic hydrogen feeding into existing ammonia production. Pilbara (10 MW), Porsgrunn (25 MW), Donaldsonville (20 MW), Puertollano (20 MW) and Sluiskil (100 MW) have all featured at Ammonia Energy in 2021, with the Ain Sokhna project (100 MW) entering the list this week.