Ammonia-fueled iron ore carriers could feasibly be deployed on the South Africa-Europe iron ore trade route as soon as 2029, and scale toward full route decarbonisation by 2035. Saldanha Bay is currently home to South Africa’s primary iron-ore export terminal, and could develop into a marine ammonia fuel bunker hub with the right policy support levers and investment.
Cleanergy’s integrated renewable pilot plant in Walvis Bay, Namibia is now online. The pilot is the first phase of a much larger project which will produce commercial scale renewable ammonia fuel: 185,000 tons per year by 2028.
Poland-based developer Hynfra has signed a framework agreement with the government of Mauritania for a renewable project near the capital city Nouakchott, producing 100,000 tons per year of renewable ammonia from 2030.
At the recent Tokyo International Conference on African Development, Japan-based Mizuho financial group signed MoUs with the Namibia Green Hydrogen Programme and Tsubame BHB for project development in Africa.
Mitsui O.S.K. Lines and ITOCHU will use their own vessels to demonstrate ship to ship ammonia bunkering in Singapore in 2027. This week, ITOCHU also signed collaboration agreements for the development of ammonia bunkering near the Suez Canal.
Various elements – different definitions for “green” hydrogen, subsidy structures, and transportation & logistics costs – all contribute to the gap between discovered prices for the H2Global and SECI renewable ammonia auctions. More SECI auction results are expected in the coming days and weeks.
The Coega Green Ammonia project, which is targeting a production capacity of 1 million tons per year once operational in 2029, has secured $20 million in development funding from SA-H2 Fund, as well as completing development of the Crossroads Green Energy project, a 1430 MW cluster of solar PV sites that will provide 40% of Coega’s power requirements.
Tarfaya, OCP Group’s 1 million tons per year renewable ammonia project, has received RFNBO pre-certification, unlocking access to the European market.
Accelerate to Demonstrate (A2D) – a UK government-backed UNIDO initiative – will provide support for the Daures Green Hydrogen Village project, aiming to produce low carbon fertilisers in Namibia from 2027.
Tarita Green Energy plans to develop a 40,000 tons per year solar-powered renewable ammonia project to be used for fertilizer production for the local agricultural industry.