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.
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.
Navigator sees its ship-to-ship ammonia transfer in South Africa as a milestone that will help unlock ammonia as a maritime bunker fuel. In Japan, JERA will begin truck-to-ship bunkering of ammonia fuel in late May, servicing NYK Line’s A-Tug vessel.
Saudi-based ACWA Power has signed agreements to explore the overseas production of hydrogen & ammonia with two organisations: South Korean power utility KEPCO, and government-owned finance body the Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa.
Four "catalytic" projects will provide momentum for the new roadmap, driving the rollout of at least 15 GW of electrolysis capacity between them by 2040. Ammonia is a feature of all these kick-off projects, and the government sees ammonia's primary role in the transition as decarbonising energy-intensive industries in South Africa.
Hive Hydrogen and Linde will lead the development & construction of a $4.6 billion, 780,000 tonnes per year solar ammonia export facility located next to the Port of Ngqura in Nelson Mandela Bay, South Africa. A dedicated solar farm (with battery storage) will be built nearby and power hydrogen production via electrolysis, air separation and ammonia production via Haber Bosch. Desalinated seawater will be supplied from off-site. Once produced, the ammonia will be stored for export from the adjacent Ngqura Harbour.
As we reported earlier this March, Namibian President Hage Geingob announced his government is looking to develop and implement national green hydrogen and green ammonia strategies as part of an economy-wide "prosperity" initiative. In an interview with CNBCAfrica this week, Presidential Advisor on Economy James Mnyupe added some more updates.