H2Global has launched its first tender process for the import of “green” ammonia into Europe, with a €360 million, ten year contract on offer beginning in 2024. In Germany, public gas company VNG and Total Eren will work towards ammonia imports into Rostock from 2028. VNG is already developing a significant clean production & import hub at Rostock, after an agreement with Equinor earlier this year.
In our December episode of Ammonia Project Features, our three guests focused on renewable ammonia production in Sub-Saharan Africa. Allan Manhanga (Sable Chemicals) took us through the story of renewable ammonia production in Zimbabwe from 1972 to 2015, and what is needed to restart the industry there. Ralph Koekkoek (MET Development) presented a new renewable ammonia & fertilizer project underway in Kenya, with a focus on local farmers and national food security. And Marcel Jacobs (African Hydrogen Partnership) emphasized the important role of organisations in raising awareness & de-risking future projects, particularly through approaches like the proposed East African Green Hydrogen and Fertilizer Corridor.
The governments of Australia and Singapore have signed a new, bilateral trade & energy agreement. Together, the two countries will cooperate on maritime decarbonisation, green corridor development, R&D and the certification of clean hydrogen & ammonia.
The European Parliament has recently voted on key changes to the Renewable Energy Directive II. The changes include new renewable fuel targets for industry, scrapping the “additionality” clause, and easing temporal & geographical restrictions on electricity PPAs for hydrogen production. A new, €3 billion Hydrogen Bank has also been announced in a bid to close the investment gap in Europe.
ENGIE has successfully reached a final investment decision on Project Yuri. The collaboration with Yara will see renewable hydrogen feedstock produced next door to Yara’s existing ammonia & fertiliser production facility in Karratha, Western Australia, with construction to commence this year, and production of renewable hydrogen to begin in 2024.
In further developments, Yuri has new stakeholders, with Mitsui & Co. securing a 28% interest stake in Yuri, and Technip Energy being selected to lead EPCC works. And in certification news, the Smart Energy Council also announced it has granted pre-certification for renewable hydrogen & ammonia production from Project Yuri, under the Zero Carbon Certification Scheme.
German energy giants E.ON and Uniper have signed agreements to offtake 500,000 tonnes of renewable ammonia each from EverWind Fuel’s under-development project at Point Tupper, Nova Scotia, beginning from 2025. The backdrop for these offtake MoUs was the signing of a new bilateral agreement between the Canadian and German governments to establish a Transatlantic Canada-Germany supply corridor for hydrogen.
Our latest Ammonia Project Features webinar focused on the social license to operate for low and zero-carbon ammonia energy projects. Sam Bartlett from the Green Hydrogen Organisation explained the details of his organisation’s new “Green Hydrogen Standard”, which not only incorporates emissions, but also the environmental, social and governance consequences of a production project. Jonathan Cocker from Borden Ladner Gervais LLP then took us through the key challenges for obtaining social license, and what we can learn from other industries and case studies already in progress around the world.