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Category: Europe

Cancellation for green ammonia project

Hy2Gen has been forced to end plans for a green ammonia plant in Norway, following the withdrawal of an electricity supply agreement by the main energy provider. Iverson eFuels, co-owned by Hy2Gen and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, had been planning to build a 200,000 t/a green ammonia plant at Birkeland in Sauda, using 240 MW of electrolysis capacity. However, the plant’s operational schedule has been pushed back from an original launch date of 2027 to 2031, prompting Norwegian electrical grid operator Statnett to withdraw the 270 MW of previously allocated grid capacity at the end of December, saying that it could only offer the extra capacity once upgrades to the grid had been completed in the period 2033-35. Following several weeks of discussions, Iverson eFuels said in a statement that: “such an unresolved situation related to the completion of new network capacity is not compatible with further development of the project. On this basis, Iverson has decided to terminate the project concerning green ammonia production in Sauda. The company regrets the decision, thanks its partners, and will now consider the possibility of establishing a data centre to create new activity in Sauda.”

Green hydrogen for Bilbao refinery

Repsol says that it is planning a 100MW green hydrogen plant to supply its Petronor refinery near Bilbao. From 2029, the plant will supply the refinery with 15,000 t/a of green hydrogen. Repsol says that the installation could prevent up to 167,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per year. The €292m ($346m) project has already secured €160m ($190m) in NextGenerationEU funds from the Spanish Recovery, Transformation, and Resilience Plan, after being recognised as a Project of Common European Interest by the European Commission.

Tax credit for green methanol project

ETFuels has been awarded €118.6m ($139.8m) in tax credits over 19 years under Business Finland’s Clean Transition program to develop a green hydrogen-based methanol project in Lapland. The credits will go towards the company’s Ranua facility, which is designed to produce 110,000 t/a of green methanol. According to ETFuels, the project, which is currently in early engineering stages, will use 300MW of renewable wind energy alongside battery storage facilities. The Ranua project is being developed in collaboration with Finnish energy firm Neova.

Drone strike on Dorogobuzh

A Ukrainian drone attack hit the Dorogobuzh nitrogen fertilizer plant, around 140 km east of the border with Belarus in the western Smolensk region, according to local press reports. At least seven people were killed and another 10 injured, according to Russian authorities. It appears that the nitric acid and ammonium nitrate plants were targeted, as well as facilities involved in the storage and transportation of ammonium nitrate, leading to extensive damage. The strike is part of an ongoing campaign by Ukraine against Russia’s oil, gas and chemical facilities.