Skip to main content

401 May-Jun 2026

9 April 2026

Green ammonium nitrate for Canada's mines moves closer to reality

Written by Natalie Noor-Drugan

Hy2gen AG has contracted Plug Power to supply a 275 MW proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyser system for Project COURANT, its renewable ammonium nitrate development in Québec, Canada, marking a significant milestone in the project’s Front-End Engineering and Design (FEED) phase ahead of a planned Final Investment Decision (FID) in 2027.

Project COURANT is designed to produce 530,000 tonnes of ammonium nitrate per year based on renewable hydrogen. The facility will supply mining explosives formulators, targeting a reduction in local emissions and a strengthening of the supply chain for Canada’s strategically important mining sector.

Decarbonising a hard-to-abate sector

Hy2gen CEO Cyril Dufau-Sansot said: “This collaboration combines Hy2gen’s project development expertise with Plug’s electrolyser technology to enable a green chemical project producing low-carbon ammonium nitrate for Canada’s mining industry. By supporting this strategic sector, we are accelerating practical, large-scale decarbonisation.”

Dufau-Sansot also pointed to the broader policy context: “Canada has shown a strong commitment to advancing reindustrialisation and building its own strategic supply chains for local industry. This is exactly the right environment in which renewable hydrogen derivatives like ammonium nitrate can thrive, as they make supply chains less dependent on imported fossil fuels.”

About Hy2gen

Hy2gen AG, based in Wiesbaden, Germany, develops, finances, builds and operates plants for the production of renewable hydrogen and hydrogen derivatives — classified as RFNBO (renewable fuels of non-biological origin). The company has been active in the sector since 2017 and currently operates in five countries. Its project pipeline comprises 3.4 GW of electrolysis capacity in planning or construction, with a further 15 GW in development. Hy2gen raised €200 million ($218 million) from investors in early 2022 and a further €47 million ($51 million) in 2025.

Natalie Noor-Drugan

Read more from Natalie Noor-Drugan

Latest in North America

Agreement for renewable fuels production

Topsoe has entered into an agreement with Texas-based sustainable fuels and chemicals technology company BioVeritas to unlock advantaged feedstocks for existing infrastructure. The agreement will enable fuel producers to license Topsoe’s HydroFlex® technology alongside the Bio-Veritas Process™ to produce renewable fuels from second-generation feedstocks, such as woody biomass, corn stover, wheat straw, and similar waste and residual biomass. The BioVeritas Process™ converts second-generation feedstocks to advantaged intermediates, called KEY-Tones™ that can be processed by Topsoe’s HydroFlex® technology to unlock production of renewable fuels using second-generation feedstock.

CF Industries delays turnaround to ease supply concerns

CF Industries has delayed a planned multi-week maintenance turnaround at its Donaldsonville, Louisiana complex, the world’s largest ammonia production facility, in response to the supply disruption caused by the Strait of Hormuz closure, the producer announced in a press release. The company said the decision is expected to make approximately 100,000 tonnes of additional granular urea available to US customers during the spring application season. CF Industries added that it is also prioritising new sales to domestic customers over higher-priced export orders for the duration of the spring planting season.