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Nitrogen+Syngas 394 Mar-Apr 2025

19 March 2025

MOPCO lines up thyssenkrupp to lower carbon intensity of production

EGYPT

MOPCO lines up thyssenkrupp to lower carbon intensity of production

thyssenkrupp Uhde says that it has been selected by MOPCO – the Misr Fertilizers Production Company – to supply advanced technology for three existing ammonia and urea plants in Damietta, Egypt, to improve the sustainability of production. Using an innovative carbon capture and usage (CCU) solution, the aim is to remove up to 145,000 t/a of CO2 from the flue gas of the existing ammonia production and use them to boost urea production. At the same time, three 150 t/d axial-radial flow uhde® ammonia converter cartridges using JM’s high performance KATALCOTM 74-1 catalyst will be installed in the existing converters to increase ammonia production capacity while lowering natural gas consumption in the synthesis loop by around 10%. To bring down CO2 emissions further, additional green hydrogen feedstock will be sourced from new water electrolysis units powered by renewable energy. MOPCO plans to produce up to 150,000 t/a of green ammonia.

Ahmed Mahmoud El-Sayed, chairman and managing director of MOPCO said: “This collaboration with thyssenkrupp Uhde marks a significant step towards our sustainability strategic goals. Their world leading technologies will not only increase our production capacity but also deliver proof for our commitment to provide more climate-friendly urea and produce green ammonia, where MOPCO will become one of the leaders to produce such products in MENA.”

MOPCO is the largest nitrogen fertilizer complex in Egypt. The ammonia and urea plants (three plants each) were originally built by thyssenkrupp Uhde between 2006 and 2015, each with a capacity of approximately 1,200 t/d of ammonia and 2,000 t/d of urea.

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Agreement signed with green ammonia developer

The government of Morocco has signed an agreement with the ORNX consortium to advance a $4.5 billion green ammonia project in the southern city of Laayoune, as part of Morocco’s ambitions to become a global hub for green hydrogen and derivatives. The development combine wind and solar electricity generation with hydrogen from electrolysis to feed green ammonia production. Under the terms of the agreement, more than 2 GW of renewable energy capacity will be installed, feeding 900 MW of electrolysers producing green hydrogen. To ensure operational stability and continuous output, the facility will also incorporate battery energy storage systems. In addition, a seawater desalination plant will be constructed to provide the purified water required for hydrogen production, addressing resource constraints in the arid coastal region. During its initial phase, the complex is expected to generate around 100,000 t/a of green hydrogen, which will allow the production of 560,000 t/a of green ammonia. The ammonia will be used both domestically in ammonium phosphate production as well as being exported internationally.