State-owned enterprise China Energy has announced new ammonia initiatives in three countries, with a reported budget of $20 billion to invest outside China over the next few years. A partnership with Petrobras in Brazil, construction of a new renewable ammonia mega-project in Morocco, and a construction start date for a renewable ammonia plant next to the Suez Canal in Egypt have all been announced in the last few weeks.
To design, build & operate a hydroelectric ammonia production plant fed by electrolytic hydrogen, what considerations need to be taken into account? Our recent episode of Ammonia Project Features explored this question, focusing on an upcoming project being developed in Paraguay by ATOME, URBAS and Casale. The use of surplus hydropower, existing industrial infrastructure, proactive engineering and commercially-available, flexible ammonia synthesis technologies all adds up to a less challenging task for developers, and a potential project template going forward.
The CAMPFIRE consortium is exploring the feasibility of ammonia-powered cruise liners on the Baltic Sea. Project partners Rostock Port, Yara, DNV and Carnival Maritime discussed progress to date at a recent Maritime Ammonia Insights webinar, including promising logistics, infrastructure & safety findings.
The Clean Energy Precinct will develop over 1.6 GW of electrolytic hydrogen production capacity within 5 years, as well as producing renewable ammonia. Works on the project are expected to commence in 2025, with commercial operations expected in 2028.
Amp Energy will develop 5 GW of electrolyser capacity in Cape Hardy, South Australia. At full scale the project will produce 5 million tonnes of renewable ammonia per year for export. The precinct has ready access to renewable power, deepwater port infrastructure and undeveloped land.
We explore the GreenBalticCruising project, investigating the potential of a cruise ship route across the Baltic Sea, powered by ammonia fuel.
In cracking technology updates this week:
Through its ammonia FPSO vessel project, SwitcH2 expects to start producing ammonia offshore 2028, while Louis Dreyfus Ports and Logistics’s “FRESH” mobile ammonia terminal concept is expected to become commercial by 2025. Recently awarded AiPs affirm the technical feasibility of both designs.
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.
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.