KBR has been selected as technology provider for two future production projects in Texas and Washington state. At the Port of Galveston, Texas Green Fuels has begun pre-FEED work and sourcing renewable electricity for its fuels export complex. And in Nova Scotia, Bear Head Energy has received environmental approval to proceed with its 2 million tonnes per year production project near Point Tupper.
Although a globally significant ammonia producer, India still relies on ammonia & fertilizer imports to support its agricultural sector. In our recent episode of Ammonia Project Features, we explored the potential of domestically-produced renewable ammonia to both replace these imports and position India as an ammonia energy giant. Excellent solar PV resources, plentiful government support and access to “round-the-clock” renewables were all highlighted as key drivers for India to meet its renewable ammonia potential.
Peak industry body Hydrogen Europe has released a new report on the potential of clean ammonia production & utilisation in Europe. Although the introduction of renewable hydrogen feedstock presents an obvious opportunity to decarbonise the ammonia industry in Europe, the potential downstream applications of ammonia energy are being neglected by policymakers - particularly power generation and maritime fuel.
The coalition of industry first-movers has announced three new members and an expanded target for electrolyser deployment (45 GW amongst its members by 2026). Ammonia energy players Power2X, Hy Stor Energy and ReNew Power all joined last month.
Supported by Sumitomo Corporation, H2Pro plans to run a demonstration experiment of 200kg per day production of renewable hydrogen using their E-TAC system. H2Pro seeks to scale up to 10 tonnes per day production capacity by 2024, with the ultimate aim to commercialise by the end of this decade.
In our latest episode of Ammonia Project Features, Asunción Borras (Engie) and Pablo Wallach (Enaex) presented the HyEx project. Although a historical exporter of nitrogen fertilizers, Chile is now a major importer of ammonia, particularly as a feedstock for manufacturing mining explosives. Solar PV generating potential in Chile’s Atacama desert is among the world’s best, and the HyEx project will leverage this to produce renewable ammonia. By 2030, HyEx could produce enough ammonia to completely replace Enaex’s current ammonia imports, with volume left for exports or other applications.
The pair will partner to develop a renewable hydrogen & ammonia project near Abu Dhabi, powered by 650 MW of solar PV in the first phase. The announcement adds to a growing portfolio of electrolysis and CCS-based ammonia projects in the UAE. Also in the Middle East, neighbouring Oman looks to position itself as the ideal “midway” ammonia bunker hub between Rotterdam and Singapore.
bp will lead development of a renewable hydrogen cluster at its existing refinery in Castellón, Spain, with up to 2 GW of on-site electrolysers to be installed by 2030. Renewable hydrogen produced at project HyVal will be used as a feedstock for the refinery, and to decarbonise hard-to-abate sectors in the Valencia region, including ammonia production.
India-based Essar Group will invest $2.4 billion on low-carbon projects at the Stanlow refinery complex near Liverpool, UK. As part of this investment, Essar and Stanlow Terminals will jointly develop an ammonia import terminal. The site will feature deep-water access, cracking facilities and the capacity to handle more than one million tonnes of ammonia imports per year from Gujarat, India.
Spanish energy & chemicals giant Cepsa has announced two new, significant ammonia partnerships this week. Cepsa will supply renewable ammonia imports to ACE Terminal in Rotterdam from 2027, realizing the vision for a green maritime corridor between the Netherlands and the Mediterranean. And, together with Fertiberia, Cepsa will develop a 1 GW renewable hydrogen plant near the La Rábida energy park. The plant will produce hydrogen feedstock for Fertiberia’s Palos de la Frontera ammonia & fertiliser manufacturing complex, and Cepsa’s own industrial needs in the area.