Site items in: Europe

RePowerEU: supporting the full switch of existing hydrogen production to renewables
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The European Commission has announced its latest plan to reduce the EU’s dependence on fossil imports. RePowerEU will encourage a full switch from fossil-based hydrogen to renewable hydrogen, based on the use of carbon contracts for difference. A hydrogen utilisation target of 20 million tonnes per year has also been set, composed of 10 million tonnes from domestic production and 10 million tonnes of imports. Of these imports, the EU has also forecast 4 million tonnes will be in the form of hydrogen-as-ammonia. The new plan marks a significant increase in ambition from the Fit-for-55 package released in July 2021.

Government funding for ammonia energy in the UK
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The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) will contribute to three ammonia energy projects via the latest funding round of its Net Zero Innovation Portfolio:

  • The Tyseley Ammonia to Green Hydrogen Project near Birmingham, where a demonstration ammonia cracking unit based on H2SITE’s technology will be built to deliver hydrogen transportation fuel.
  • The GreeNH3 project from Supercritical, ScottishPower and Proton Ventures to develop a renewable ammonia pilot plant based on Supercritical’s new electrolyser technology.
  • And the Ammonia Synthesis Plant from Intermittent Renewable Energy (ASPIRE) project. Partners the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) and Frazer-Nash Consultancy are developing autonomous renewable ammonia production plants in the UK.

Building ammonia supply chains into the Port of Rotterdam
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The state government of Queensland has signed a new agreement with the Port of Rotterdam to develop an ammonia export supply chain between Australia and the EU. The announcement comes the same week that the Port of Rotterdam authority set a target of supplying industrial centers in northwest Europe with 4.6 million tonnes of hydrogen by 2030 - the vast majority of which will need to be imported. As to the question of when those imports will begin, the Rocky Mountain Institute has released a new report indicating the EU should be ready to receive renewable hydrogen as soon as significant capacity comes online in 2024.

Unlocking CCS ammonia potential in Europe
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The first episode of our new series Ammonia Project Features revealed interesting details about current and future low-carbon ammonia projects in Europe. Bjørgulf Eidesen (Horisont Energi) explained that the Barents Blue project aims to set an ambitious new standard for low-carbon ammonia production, particularly by demonstrating transparency on its CO2 footprint & other sustainability indicators. But, although Europe’s technical capacity for carbon storage is far greater than what will be required, Toby Lockwood (Clean Air Task Force) reminded us that progress is slow, with only half the capacity required by 2030 currently developed. Supporting policy, tight regulations and funding support is all required from a government level.

Green Ammonia Volume Analysis – A Roadmap Towards 2030
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Yara Clean Ammonia, together with NCE Maritime CleanTech and with analysis support from DNV, have delivered a volume analysis and roadmap for the use of renewable ammonia in the Norwegian domestic shipping sector. With the right policy levers in place, renewable ammonia can meet and reach beyond the 2030 decarbonisation targets for the Norwegian domestic fleet, reducing emissions by as much as 69%.

DECHEMA and Fertilizers Europe: decarbonizing ammonia production up to 2030
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DECHEMA and Fertilizers Europe recently released a new report detailing how & where the European fertilizer industry can decarbonize leading up to 2030. Technology options for CO2-emission reduction of hydrogen feedstock in ammonia production explores decarbonization pathways including energy efficiency improvements, carbon capture & sequestration, renewable hydrogen feedstock and grid-based electrolysis. It proposes a detailed roadmap towards 19% emissions reduction from the EU fertilizer industry by 2030, and – looking ahead to 2050 – forecasts the almost complete decarbonization of the industry, via zero-carbon electricity generation in the EU and the growth of renewable hydrogen production. With the right policy & regulatory levers in place, Fertilizers Europe believes there is no reason the transition cannot happen faster.