India-based ReNew Power and the SCZONE have signed an agreement to develop a new, $8 billion, million-tonne-per-year renewable ammonia production plant near Ain Sokhna in Egypt. The first phase, producing 100,000 tonnes per year of renewable ammonia, is targeted for completion between 2023 and 2025.
Proton Ventures and the Mohammed VI Polytechnic University have signed an agreement to construct a demonstration-sized ammonia production plant at OCP’s existing manufacturing complex in Jorf Lasfar. The 4 tonne per day plant will be powered via an electrical load emulator, simulating the profiles of wind and solar generation at different geographical sites. The facility will act as a “reference unit” and “living laboratory”, allowing scale-up to larger industrial projects, further R&D and training for the future ammonia workforce.
Canada-based Hydrofuel has announced the acquisition of Lumos Laboratories, a Nigerian R&D organisation that has developed technology to convert urine to a hydrogen-rich, flammable gas mixture. The production of hydrogen, ammonia, fertilisers, cooking/heating fuels and electricity generation from Lumos technologies presents an opportunity to improve sanitation & reduce reliance on solid fuels for cooking and heating, and fossil fuels for electricity generation. Under the terms of the acquisition, Hydrofuel will support the commercialisation of this technology.
Angola’s state-owned energy company Sonangol has signed an agreement with two German engineering firms to build a 280,000 tonne per year renewable ammonia production plant on the country’s northern coast. Exports to the EU are expected to begin in 2024, with a supply of hydroelectricity already secured.
New project details have emerged from the AMAN mega-project in Mauritania. CWP Global indicates the project will include 18GW of wind capacity and 12GW of solar capacity in northwest Mauritania, producing 10 million tonnes of renewable ammonia per year for export and local use.
Total has signed a new MoU with the General Authority for Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZONE) to develop a renewable ammonia project in Ain Sokhna, Egypt. The first phase targets production of 300,000 tonnes of renewable ammonia per year. SCZONE is now involved with six renewable hydrogen-based projects near the Suez Canal totaling more than $10 billion in investment, and featuring about 1.5 million tonnes of renewable ammonia production in the first phase (expanding to at least 6 million tonnes per year).
CWP Global has selected US-based engineering organisation Bechtel to support the development of large-scale green hydrogen and ammonia facilities in northwest Africa. CWP Global is leading development of two Supergiants in the region: the AMAN project in Mauritania (renewable ammonia), and the AMUN project in Morocco (renewable fertilisers). In other engineering news, Total Eren has selected UK-based Wood to develop the production complex for its H2 Magallanes project. Wood is already engaged in two significant blue ammonia projects (Al Ruwais, UAE, and the Barents Blue project in Norway).
A series of new announcements illustrates the growing importance of Egypt, the Suez Gulf and the area designated the Suez Canal Economic Zone to the ammonia energy transition:
