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Fertiliser giant OCP Group to go fully renewable, eliminate ammonia imports to Morocco
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In a ceremony before King Mohammed VI of Morocco, OCP Group presented a new, green investment plan for 2023-27. The $13 billion plan will see OCP install 5 GW of renewable energy by 2027, completely powering their fertiliser manufacturing operations. A production target of one million tonnes per year renewable ammonia (also by 2027) will see OCP make serious headway into replacing its ammonia imports into Morocco with locally-made feedstock, improving food & energy security.

Trinidad & Tobago launches roadmap to decarbonise hydrogen & ammonia production
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Trinidad & Tobago’s National Energy Corporation, the Inter-American Development Bank and KBR have released their findings on how to establish a market for renewable hydrogen in the Caribbean country. Underpinned by a stepwise development of 57 GW of offshore wind power potential, the country could completely displace fossil-based hydrogen with renewable hydrogen in 2052. The 4 million tonnes-per-year production potential would meet industrial demands and lay the foundation for a significant export industry, potentially transforming Trinidad & Tobago into a global energy hub.

Renewable ammonia opportunities in Egypt
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For our December episode of Ammonia Project Features, we welcomed Alzbeta Klein (International Fertilizer Association) and Tarek Hosny (Fertiglobe). Our speakers discussed a pathway forward for Egypt’s fertilizer industry to decarbonize, presented the newly-commissioned Egypt Green Hydrogen project, and outlined the unique advantages (and challenges) of developing renewable production projects in Egypt.

H2Global launches first green ammonia tender
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H2Global has launched its first tender process for the import of “green” ammonia into Europe, with a €360 million, ten year contract on offer beginning in 2024. In Germany, public gas company VNG and Total Eren will work towards ammonia imports into Rostock from 2028. VNG is already developing a significant clean production & import hub at Rostock, after an agreement with Equinor earlier this year.

New report released on environmental hazards of ammonia spills
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Ricardo, Lloyd’s Register and the Environmental Defense Fund have used extensive modeling to assess the environmental impacts of large-scale ammonia spills in a variety of maritime scenarios. The study concludes that large-scale spills will have a high impact on certain environmental settings, and in particular fish species. The report also indicates that ammonia is less likely to spread & persist in the environment compared to a spill of conventional maritime fuel, and in some cases will pose less of a threat to certain species. More considerations need to be worked through, including health risks to a ship’s crew.

CWP Global plans new supergiant in Djibouti
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CWP Global and Djibouti’s Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources have agreed to develop a 10 GW renewable energy hub in the African Republic, which will power the production of renewable hydrogen & derivatives like ammonia. In two related Australian updates, the AREH will become the Australian Renewable Energy Hub, and Andrew Forrest-owned Squadron Energy announced it will acquire Australia-based CWP Renewables and its significant project pipeline.

Kepco agrees to ammonia offtake from Gladstone
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Kepco and the Hydrogen Utility have signed an offtake agreement for renewable ammonia produced at the under-development H2-Hub in Gladstone, Queensland. The pair will develop supply chains for the ammonia product to be exported to Korea, where it will be used to decarbonise power stations. In Western Australia, two new renewable energy-powered, million-tonne-per-year projects have been launched, with Korean-based KOMIPO and Australia-based Progressive Green Solutions agreeing to develop the new export plants.

Ammonia cracking to enable hydrogen-fueled power generation in South Korea
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Johnson Matthey and Doosan Enerbility will develop hydrogen-fueled, closed cycle gas turbine power plants in South Korea. Johnson Matthey will provide cracking technology and catalysts to convert ammonia into pure hydrogen fuel, while Doosan is currently developing a 380 MW, 100% hydrogen fed gas turbine, which will reportedly be complete by 2027. The two will work together to integrate cracking & CCGT technologies, potentially providing a blueprint for similar power plants in the future.

Large-scale ammonia imports to Hamburg, Brunsbüttel
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Air Products and Mabanaft will develop ammonia import & distribution infrastructure at Mabanaft’s existing tank terminal at the Port of Hamburg. From 2026, ammonia imports will be “converted” to hydrogen at Air Products facilities in Hamburg, then distributed to customers in northern Germany. Meanwhile, RWE and Hyphen have signed an offtake agreement, with 300,000 tonnes per year from Hyphen’s under-development mega-project in Namibia to be shipped to Germany. RWE is developing an ammonia import terminal in Brunsbüttel (just up the Elbe River from Hamburg), which will be ready to receive shipments from 2026.

New photocatalyst for ammonia decomposition unveiled
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Rice University & Syzygy Plasmonics have demonstrated a new copper-iron photocatalyst for ammonia decomposition. The potential to replace expensive, rare materials like ruthenium would be a significant step, and Syzygy aims to couple the new photocatalyst and light-driven, all-electric reactor technology developed at Rice to decarbonise chemical & fuel production. It’s been a big month for Syzygy, which also closed a successful, $76 million Series C funding round, with Aramco, Chevron, LOTTE and Toyota all participating.