The NortH2 consortium announced this week that it would partner with OCI for a large-scale supply agreement to OCI’s manufacturing plants in the Netherlands, enabling OCI to develop the first integrated green ammonia and methanol value chains in Europe.
Five ammonia vessel updates this week:
1. An ammonia/liquefied CO2 carrier concept design from Mitsui O.S.K. Lines & Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.
2. Approval in Principle for an ammonia-fueled car carrier designed by China State Shipbuilding.
3. Approval in Principle for the MS Green Ammonia.
4. An MoU between three members of the Castor Initiative to design & construct two Very Large Crude Carriers.
5. A concept design for up to four types of ammonia-ready, LNG-fueled vessels (ARLFV) from NYK Line.
Two updates from AFC Energy:
1. The “Power Tower”, a 10kW, ammonia-fueled, off-grid power was launched last month, with Keltbray and Acciona to deploy modular units on construction sites mid-year.
2. The launch of Extreme-H off road racing, with green methanol and ammonia likely to act as hydrogen carriers for the hydrogen-fueled racing championship.
Fortescue Future Industries and German energy giant E.ON have signed a significant hydrogen supply & distribution agreement this week. Aiming to begin as quickly as possible, by 2030 FFI will ramp up supply to 5 million tonnes of green hydrogen to Europe per year for distribution by E.ON.
Two developments this week as progress continues towards clean ammonia supply chains between the EU and the Middle East:
1. ADNOC signed multiple agreements with a diverse set of German organisations to study, implement and accelerate clean hydrogen supply chains between Germany and the UAE. Among the agreements is the execution of a blue ammonia “demonstration cargo” shipment from the UAE to Germany this year, via Fertiglobe’s Fertil plant in al Ruwais, UAE.
2. The UAE Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure and the Dutch Ministry for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation signed a new MoU on hydrogen energy, with a view to supplying Europe via green hydrogen & ammonia imports into the Port of Rotterdam.
Three key first-movers at Ammonia Energy - NEOM, Yara and Fertiberia - have all made significant steps towards green ammonia production in recent times. With the launch of a new subsidiary to develop hydrogen & ammonia production, NEOM can possibly begin construction of its green hydrogen plant this month. Also this week, Yara held a groundbreaking ceremony at Heroya, with the intention to bring green ammonia and fertilisers to market by mid-2023. And a few months ago in December, green hydrogen storage tanks arrived at Fertiberia’s Puertollano ammonia plant, ready for installation.
RWE is accelerating plans for a green ammonia import terminal in Brunsbüttel, with facilities to be ready to receive 300,000 tonnes per year as early as 2026. Although the immediate focus for Brunsbüttel is a new LNG import facility, RWE indicates that the ultimate goal is complete conversion of the site to only import “green molecules” like ammonia. Brunsbüttel has already been identified as a likely destination for green ammonia exports from South Australia. And, an ongoing feasibility study by the Australian-German HySupply consortium has released interim results suggesting that shipping costs for Australian ammonia to the EU will be much lower than first thought.