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COP27: EU forms new partnerships
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The European Commission has signed strategic partnerships with three countries at COP27: Namibia, Kazakhstan and Egypt. Key cooperation areas include boosting the rollout of renewable energy generation for hydrogen production, and European investment to finance renewable hydrogen production. Also in Sharm el-Sheikh, German Chancellor Olaf Scholtz announced the first tender process for H2Global will shortly commence, with a further €4 billion to be invested into the pay-for-difference initiative.

COP27: raised ambitions for Africa
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Fortescue Future Industries and the Kenyan government will develop a 300 MW, geothermal-powered ammonia & fertiliser production plant. The project is part of a larger pipeline (25 GW) of renewable energy generation being explored by FFI and Kenya. In Mauritania, bp will explore the potential for large-scale renewable hydrogen production, and a new report from Masdar has laid out the opportunities on offer for Africa: as much as 10% of the global renewable hydrogen market by 2050, or 60 million tonnes per year.

COP27: Egyptian production projects
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This week we explore three ammonia production announcements from Egypt at COP27. The “Egypt Green” integrated hydrogen plant has been commissioned in Ain Sokhna, and will shortly begin supplying renewable hydrogen to two nearby ammonia plants. AMEA Power has agreed to develop an 800,000 tonnes per year ammonia production project (also in Ain Sokhna), and Fortescue Future Industries will explore the feasibility of multiple renewable projects across the country.

COP27: the Green Shipping Challenge
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The US and Norway launched the Green Shipping Challenge in Sharm el-Sheikh this month. The Challenge encompasses more than forty different announcements & initiatives, including ammonia fuel production in Namibia, ammonia-powered cargo shipping in Finland, ammonia-powered pilot vessels in Norway's Green Shipping Programme, and a host of new green corridor projects. A trio of new reports have also provided an assessment of progress to date in green corridor development, and suggested key next steps.

Gigawatt-scale renewable ammonia in Northwest Africa
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In our November episode of Ammonia Project Features we explored two gigawatt-sized ammonia production projects in Northwest Africa: AMUN (Morocco) and AMAN (Mauritania). Nouri Chahid (CWP Global) presented project details, while Lloyd Pinnell (Systemiq) explored the socio-economic impacts of AMAN in Mauritania. If developed in the right way, AMAN could provide potable water, access to cheap renewable electricity, significant local employment & education opportunities, as well as the opportunity to build institutions to best manage new economic windfalls.

Canada to launch new tax credit for hydrogen production
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The Canadian government has proposed a significant tax credit for hydrogen production in the country - at least 40% if all conditions are met. Citing the Infrastructure Reduction Act in the US, the Department of Finance sees adoption of “competitive” measures as critical to make sure Canada is not “left behind”. The government will shortly launch industry consultation on how best to implement the tax credit, based on lifecycle carbon intensity of hydrogen.

Siemens Energy begins work on commercial cracker prototype
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Siemens Energy, Fortescue Future Industries and GeoPura are developing a £3.5 million ammonia cracker prototype in Newcastle, UK. The prototype will deliver 200 kg of high-purity, PEM-suitable hydrogen fuel per day, and will be based on Fortescue’s “Metal Membrane Technology” (MMT) purification process. GeoPura will act as offtaker for the prototype facility, with the hydrogen to be used as in its Hydrogen Power Unit fuel cell technology.

Ascension Clean Energy, Louisiana
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Clean Hydrogen Works, Denbury and Hafnia will jointly develop a world-scale ammonia production project near Donaldsonville, Louisiana. The Ascension Clean Energy (ACE) project will total $7.5 billion in investment and produce 7.1 million tonnes of CCS ammonia per year.

Aurubis to test using ammonia fuel for copper wire production in Germany
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A shipment of thirteen tonnes of CCS-based ammonia has arrived in Hamburg from ADNOC’s al Ruwais ammonia plant near Abu Dhabi. This “demonstration cargo” has been in the works since March this year, when ADNOC signed an agreement with a raft of German organisations, including metals manufacturing giant Aurubis. The ammonia will be trialed as fuel to power copper rod production at Aurubis’ Hamburg smelter.

Amon Maritime unveils ammonia-powered, offshore platform supply vessel
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Amon Maritime has launched a new subsidiary - Amon Offshore - which will build, own and operate a fleet of ammonia-powered platform supply vessels, to operate off Norway’s coast. The new PSV design has already received AiP for ammonia notation from DNV, and preliminary flag approval from Norwegian Maritime Authorities. We also explore two more AiP for ammonia-powered vessels in China: a 16,000 TEU container ship and a 50,000 tonne, mid-range oil/chemical tanker.