Mejillones Ammonia Energy: renewable ammonia in Chile

Adding to an expanding queue of large-scale ammonia projects in the South American country, Mejillones Ammonia Energy (MAE) has progressed its plans for a 600,000 ton-per-year renewable ammonia production plant to be based in the Northern Chilean city of Mejilliones.

The company has, following the completion of 3-years of pre-feasibility and feasibility studies, submitted an Environmental Impact Study (EIS) of its Volta Project to the Environmental Impact Assessment System (EIAS).

The project will be powered by a 600 MW solar energy park and will feature an existing water desalination plant. MAE is also exploring the use of wastewater. It will be completed in two stages, with the first, comprising 300,000 tonnes per year of renewable ammonia, becoming operational by year end 2027.

The project is expected to require a total investment of over US$2.5 billion, creating a total of 2,200 jobs (1,700 during construction and about 500 direct and indirect jobs once operational).

Although not concretised at this stage, MAE is holding conversations on offtake and potential strategic partnerships.

The Volta project has set high technical and environmental standards for its development, incorporating resource efficiency as a guiding criteria for its design. It has also sought to optimise the use of existing infrastructure, aiming to include circular economy opportunities for water supply. Additionally, the Volta project has incorporated an early community engagement strategy that included a citizen participation process before the environmental assessment. At MAE, we have created instances of participation and permanent communication with the community and local authorities to accompany the various stages of the project’s development and operation.

The submission of this EIS is an important milestone for this industry to become a reality for the country and is a step towards the transition to a low-carbon economy in Mejillones, and Chile.

Gonzalo Moyano, MAE CEO, in his organisation’s official press release,  26 February 2024

[Ammonia and hydrogen] are complementary substances rather than opposites. On the one hand, ammonia is an efficient and safe way to transport green hydrogen. On the other hand, ammonia offers opportunities for decarbonization in specific high-potential sectors…

Ammonia is one of the most widely produced chemical compounds in the world and has a long history of industrial use. Thanks to this, the technology and infrastructure necessary for its transportation and commercialization at a global level already exists.

Gonzalo Moyano, MAE CEO in an interview with media outlet El Mercurio, 22 Feb 2024