State-owned enterprise China Energy has announced new ammonia initiatives in three countries, with a reported budget of $20 billion to invest outside China over the next few years. A partnership with Petrobras in Brazil, construction of a new renewable ammonia mega-project in Morocco, and a construction start date for a renewable ammonia plant next to the Suez Canal in Egypt have all been announced in the last few weeks.
Masdar joint venture Infinity Power, Germany-based Conjuncta and the government of Mauritania have agreed to develop an export mega-project. Up to 8 million tonnes per year of renewable fuels of non-biological origin will be produced for export to Germany. In Egypt, Masdar’s two million tonne per year ammonia fuel project on the Suez Canal has been fast-tracked via a “golden license”.
UAE-based Ocior Energy will invest $4.86 billion each into two separate, million tonne-per-year renewable ammonia projects in India: one in Andhra Pradesh, the other in Gujarat. Last December, Ocior also signed an MoU to develop a green fuels project in the Suez Canal Economic Zone.
Last month, AEA Executive Vice-President Hans Vrijenhoef presented to a full house at the 29th AFA International Fertilizer Conference in Cairo, Egypt. Hans covered the challenging task of aligning the current & future ammonia certification tools being developed by various parties. There was also evidence of huge MENA momentum for clean ammonia at the event, both in Egypt and the wider region.
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.
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.
Meet Fertiglobe, leader of a consortium developing a renewable ammonia-to-fertilizer project in Ain Sokhna, near the Suez Canal. To further explore the landscape and potential for renewable fertilizers in Egypt, we also hear from the International Fertilizer Association.
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.
