Status of renewable ammonia projects and technology licensors

This article was also published in CRU’s Fertilizer International Magazine, November-December 2025 edition. It is also an update on a previous AEA article published in August 2024 (Licensor selection picking up for renewable ammonia synthesis loops).

Globally, operational renewable ammonia projects have exceeded one gigawatt (GW) of installed electrolyser capacity for the first time. Here, we provide an overview of well-advanced projects and the associated technology options for ammonia synthesis.

While a large number of renewable ammonia projects have been announced, one of the concrete steps toward their realisation is the selection of the ammonia technology provider. In this article, we highlight how project momentum is building globally, as shown by the increase in licensor selection for renewable ammonia synthesis.

Status of renewable ammonia production

Click to expand. Low-emission and transitional ammonia plants: by project type (top) and by technology pathway (bottom). From AEA’s LEAD Database.

The Ammonia Energy Association (AEA) tracks progress on ammonia decarbonisation globally via its Low-Emission Ammonia Data (LEAD). The database is updated quarterly and includes information about ammonia plants, ammonia-fuelled maritime vessels, and ammonia infrastructure. The underlying source data for LEAD are available to the AEA’s membership.

LEAD shows a large number of announced renewable ammonia plants, mainly powered by solar and wind generated electricity. In the third quarter of this year, operational renewable ammonia projects collectively exceeded one gigawatt (GW) of installed electrolyser capacity for the first time – in excess of 85% of this capacity being based on alkaline electrolysis, with the remainder representing proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolysis.

Combined, these operational plants are capable of producing around 625,000 tons per annum (t/a) of renewable ammonia. Newbuild projects in Northern China, like Envision’s Chifeng project and SPIC’s Da’an project, collectively represent 500,000 t/a of this production capacity. Smaller 5-25 megawatt (MW) capacity revamps at existing gas-based ammonia plants represent 95,000 t/a of this production total.

Projected capacity for low-emission and transitional ammonia plants by project type (newbuild and revamp) and by technology pathway (gas reforming, water electrolysis, other) are shown to the right. This includes completed and well-advanced projects that are either:

• Operational – already in production
• Firm – having reached financial investment decision (FID)
• Mature – at the front-end engineering design (FEED) stage

It is expected that individual ammonia plants with electrolyser capacities in the gigawatt range will come online in 2026 and 2027. These notably include the 2.2 GW capacity NEOM project in Saudi Arabia which will have the capability to produce 1.2 million t/a of renewable ammonia.

Renewable ammonia licensors

The selection of the licensor is a critical milestone in the development of renewable ammonia projects.

A key requirement for these projects is the flexibility of the ammonia synthesis loop. In particular, the ability of this loop to operate at low loads is desirable, in response to variable solar and wind electricity supply, as well as being necessary to avoid excessive hydrogen storage requirements.

Most licensors for renewable ammonia projects claim the ability to operate at 10% minimum load, although maintaining a minimum load of 20% is generally preferable to minimise both metallurgical fatigue and the power consumption of the ammonia synthesis loop.

KBR: licenses for 14 K-GreeN^® plants

Science, technology and engineering giant KBR is a major ammonia licensor. Around 50% of global ammonia production capacity (excluding China) uses a KBR license, according to the company.

KBR’s K-GreeN^® technology offers a fully integrated process for:

• The electrolysis of water to produce hydrogen
• The separation of air to produce nitrogen
• Haber-Bosch synthesis of renewable ammonia
• Plus battery and hydrogen storage capacities.

KBR’s ammonia synthesis section can use a vertical or horizontal ammonia converter, depending on project requirements, as KBR has designed both types of converter for many plants currently in operation. The other distinctive feature of KBR’s renewable ammonia technology is the unitised chiller. This significantly reduces the equipment count, and therefore CAPEX, as well as providing ease of operation.

K-GreeN can run in a dynamic mode, with the ability to turn down to 10% of nominal capacity, and ramp up and down from 100% of capacity within an hour. K-GreeN includes an Advance Process Control to manage dynamic operation.

This overarching proprietary control system looks after the whole plant – including the electrolysers, the air separation unit and hydrogen storage – to maximise and optimise ammonia production, factoring in weather forecasts and grid electricity prices, for example, if applicable.

Click to learn more. JGC’s Green Ammonia Plant in Japan, which uses KBR’s K-GreeN^® ammonia synthesis technology. Source: KBR.

KBR’s licensed technology package includes associated performance guarantees alongside the delivery of proprietary equipment such as the ammonia converter and unitised chiller. In developing its K-GreeN concept, KBR has leveraged its 75-plus years of experience in designing ammonia plants, with these ranging from very small capacity (four tons per day (t/d) of ammonia) to the largest single train capacity plant currently operating (6,000 t/d of ammonia).

K-GreeN can be fully modularised to meet the required capacity by following an engineering, procurement and fabrication (EPF) strategy. Alternatively, KBR can use its engineering services to offer an integrated stick-build construction strategy covering the entirety of a project, from its first stages to engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCm) services.

KBR sold its 14th license for a renewable ammonia synthesis loop to Celsia in Colombia. The list of known KBR licenses includes:

• ACME’s Green Hydrogen and Chemicals SPC project, Oman, 300 t/d capacity
• JGC’s Green Ammonia Plant, Japan, 4 t/d capacity pilot project
• Enaex’s HyEx project, Chile, 57 t/d capacity pilot project (full-scale plant later)
• Atlas Agro’s Pacific Green Fertilizer Plant, United States
• The MadoquaPower2X project of Madoqua Ventures, Power2X, and CIP, Portugal, 1,200 t/d capacity
• Avina Clean Hydrogen’s Nueces Clean Ammonia project, United States, 2,200 t/d capacity hybrid plant
• The H2biscus project of Lotte Chemical, Samsung Engineering and POSCO, Malaysia, 2,286 t/d capacity
• Fortescue’s Holmaneset project, Norway, 675 t/d capacity
• OCIOR’s project in Gopalpur, India, 600 t/d capacity
• Project Celsia, Colombia, 84 t/d capacity

Topsoe: licensing DynAMMO™ to NEOM

Click to learn more. Topsoe is the technology provider to the green ammonia demonstration plant, Ramme, Denmark. Source: Topsoe.

Topsoe licenses its DynAMMO™ ammonia loop for renewable ammonia production. The company claims a load flexibility of between 10-100% with full ramp up within minutes, as well as fast restarts after stand-by mode or total shutdown. The technology is demonstrated at the 24 t/d capacity REDDAP ammonia demonstration plant in Lemvig, Denmark. Small ammonia plants of up to 600 t/d capacity, known as Topsoe ModuLite Green Ammonia, can be prefabricated rather than stick built on-site.

Topsoe has licensed the world’s largest renewable ammonia synthesis loop so far – the 3,500 t/d capacity unit for NEOM’s solar and wind project in Saudi Arabia. Other examples of synthesis loops licensed by Topsoe for renewable ammonia projects include the:

• 1,650 t/d capacity unit for Project Nujio’Qonik in Newfoundland, Canada
• 1,800 t/d capacity unit for Mintal Hydrogen Energy Technology in Baotou, China
• 2,500 t/d capacity unit for Allied Green Ammonia in Gove, Northern Territory, Australia
• 750 t/d capacity unit for Hygenco in Odisha, India
• 575 t/d capacity unit for Synergen Green Energy in the USA

Additional to its leading capabilities as a catalyst provider and ammonia licensor, Topsoe has also constructed a factory for manufacturing solid oxide electrolysers in Denmark, with 5 GW of capacity already secured by project developer First Ammonia.

thyssenkrupp Uhde: dynamic Uhde^® ammonia synthesis technology

thyssenkrupp Uhde is an ammonia licensor and a full engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) provider to the chemical industry. It licenses its flexible ammonia synthesis loop, dynamic Uhde^® ammonia synthesis technology, with capacities available from 50 t/d up to 6,000 t/d.

Click to learn more. Graphic visualisation of a Thyssenkrupp Uhde renewable ammonia plant. Source: thyssenkrupp Uhde.

thyssenkrupp Uhde’s RHAMFS^® methodology also offers full concept process optimisation, from the renewables stage up to ammonia production. With the company’s proprietary Master Controller, it is possible to ramp the ammonia plant up and down between 10-100% load in response to fluctuating renewable energy availability. Overall, thyssenkrupp Uhde’s design offers a combination of operational flexibility and energy efficiency.

The world’s oldest operational electrolysis-based ammonia plant, the 50 t/d capacity in Cuzco plant operated by Enaex in Peru, is based on thyssenkrupp Uhde technology.

As well as providing licenses, thyssenkrupp Uhde has built four operational electrolysis-based ammonia plants – including KIMA’s 400 t/d capacity ammonia plant in Egypt.

As an experienced chemical engineering and EPC provider, thyssenkrupp Uhde has the capability to deliver fully integrated and modularised ammonia plants. This combination of technology and deployment expertise allows thyssenkrupp Uhde to significantly de-risk the overall project – via schedule and cost assurances and performance guarantees.

As of 2024, thyssenkrupp Uhde has conducted numerous techno-economic, pre-FEED and FEED studies for renewable ammonia projects globally, with a production capacity equivalent to 30 million t/d. Examples include studies in Australia, Pakistan, Spain, the United Arab Emirates, and Vietnam. Notable pre-FEED and FEED studies have been performed in:

• Australia for Fortescue, CQH2 and CIP
• Spain for Hive Energy
• South Africa for Prieska Power

Floating ammonia production concepts have also been developed by Uhde for SwitchH2 and BWO.

Spin off company thyssenkrupp nucera, meanwhile, is a leading OEM for alkaline electrolysers. It will supply the more than 2 GW of electrolyser capacity needed for the NEOM project in Saudi Arabia.

Casale: Flexigreen^® Design for Green Ammonia Plants

Licensor Casale is well known for its proprietary axial-radial vertical converter, which lowers the pressure drop and improves the performance of the ammonia synthesis loop. Casale has installed these converters in over 250 plants globally, most recently using the AmoMax^®-Casale catalyst jointly developed with Clariant. Casale also provides revamping solutions for horizontal ammonia converters.

Click to learn more. ATOME’s Villeta project in Paraguay will incorporate Casale’s Flexigreen^® technology. Source: ATOME.

Casale’s experience with electrolysis technology goes back to the origins of the ammonia industry. More than a dozen of the first grass root ammonia plants licensed by Casale in the 1920s were based on hydrogen generated by electrolysers.

Casale licenses the Flexigreen^® Green Ammonia designs for renewable ammonia plants. To ensure optimal performance, small-scale plants utilise the company’s SMART-N synthesis loop, with minimal equipment items and relatively higher pressures, while large-scale plants utilise its FlexAMMONIA synthesis loop.

Casale offers operational flexibility down to 10% of nominal load, in accordance with previous reporting. This has been industrially tested in a world-scale ammonia plant with 1,500 t/d capacity. Fast load changes in ammonia synthesis capacity – of 3% per minute – are also claimed.

Casale offers an advanced process controller to optimise plant operations under varying power supply conditions. The operational performance and design of the ammonia synthesis loop avoid fatigue issues by taking account of the potential load cycling of various components. Additionally, optimisation tools and dynamic analysis are available to minimise ammonia production costs.

Casale has licensed 12 renewable ammonia plants, as of 2024. Examples of renewable ammonia synthesis loops licensed by Casale include:

• SkiGA’s Skipavika project, Norway, 300 t/d capacity, modularised design
• ATOME’s Villeta project, Paraguay, 240 t/d capacity
• Incitec Pivot’s (now defunct) Gibson Island revamp project, Australia, 1,100 t/d capacity
• AM Green’s revamp project in Kakinada, India, two plants with a capacity of 1,500 t/d each
• Avaada’s project in Gopalpur, Odisha, India, 1,500 t/d capacity
• EverWind Fuels’ Point Tupper project in Nova Scotia, Canada, 750 t/d capacity
• ACME’s Gopalpur project in Odisha, India, 1,200 t/d capacity
• RTI International and the University of Minnesota’s pilot project in Morris, Minnesota, 1 t/d capacity.

Casale has also developed hybridisation projects with MIX-N technology, such as Fertiglobe’s 1,350 t/d capacity EFC 2 plant revamp in Egypt. This is partially converting the existing plant to renewable ammonia as part of the Egypt Green project.

Stamicarbon (NEXTCHEM): NX Stami Ammonia™ for various scales of ammonia production

Click to enlarge. Computer generated 3D model of a Stamicarbon Green Ammonia plant. Source: Stamicarbon.

Stamicarbon, the nitrogen technology licensor of NEXTCHEM, offers two distinct ammonia technologies as part of its NX STAMI™ Ammonia portfolio. The medium-pressure design is available for large-scale plants of up to 3,500 t/d capacity. The alternative high-pressure design is suited to medium-scale renewable ammonia production (50-500 t/d) and is flexible and responsive – being able to operate down to 10% of nominal load and quickly ramp up and down. The relatively high pressure of the ammonia synthesis loop enables capex savings by reducing the number of equipment items. This also means the plant has a relatively small footprint (e.g., 50 x 50 metres for a 500 t/d capacity unit).

Notably, Stamicarbon has secured the technology license for JWC Gburg’s wind powered 450 t/d capacity Meadowlark green ammonia project in Nebraska in the United States. Stamicarbon is also the ammonia technology licensor for FertigHy’s low-carbon fertilizer project in Northern France.

The company is also involved in renewable ammonia projects in Angola, Indonesia, Kenya, Qatar and the United States.

GoodChina: ammonia converters for renewable ammonia production

Click to learn more. Envision’s Green Ammonia Manufacturing Plant in Chifeng, China. Source: Envision.

Nanjing GoodChina Chemical Technologies (GoodChina) is a Chinese ammonia converter manufacturer. Historically, the company has mainly delivered ammonia and methanol synthesis converters for coal-based processes. It has also successfully delivered equipment for renewable ammonia projects in recent years.

In fact, GoodChina delivered the ammonia converter for ACME’s renewable ammonia pilot in India back in 2021, a 5 t/d capacity plant constructed by KAPSOM. It also supplied the reactor for Envision’s 20,000 t/a demonstrator in Chifeng, Inner Mongolia, which began operating in March 2024. Envision Energy recently acquired GoodChina.

Various GoodChina ammonia converters have been ordered for commercial-scale renewable ammonia plants, including:

• Two ammonia converters, each producing 150,000 t/a of ammonia, for Phase 1 of Envision’s Chifeng project which began operating in July
• The ammonia converter for SPIC’s 180,000 t/a capacity Da’an project in Jilin province which also entered production in July
• The ammonia converter for Phase 1 of China Energy Engineering Group’s Green Hydrogen-Ammonia-Methanol Integration Project at Songyuan Hydrogen Energy Industrial Park, which is scheduled to start producing 158,000 t/a of ammonia from late 2025 onwards (200,00 t/a capacity)
• The ammonia converter for Shenzhen Energy’s 150,000 t/a capacity project in Otog Banner, Inner Mongolia
• The ammonia converter for Ningxia Baofeng Energy’s 80,000 t/a capacity project in Ningdong, Ningxia