Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Compressor International Corporation says that it has successfully delivered syngas and ammonia refrigeration compressor trains for the Beaumont New Ammonia Project in Beaumont, Texas. This facility, originally developed by OCI Global as the OCI Clean Ammonia project, now owned by Woodside Energy, will be the first large-scale, lower-carbon greenfield ammonia facility in the world.
The nitrogen plants at HIP’s Azotara site are to be dismantled and removed as part of plans to convert the site to a data storage facility. Plants to be removed include the urea plant and urea storage facility, the UAN liquid storage facility, the calcium ammonium nitrate and nitric acid plans, and thegrain storage societies. In addition, the entire Block 6 is planned to be removed, which includes ammonia plants and storage, nitric acid and urea production, all of which have been out of operation for a long time.
NextChem and Siemens Energy have signed a memorandum of understanding to cooperate on the development and commercialisation of a high temperature methanol fuel cell, based on a newly designed modularised solution. With an initial focus on the high-end yachting segment, the target market for the cooperation is the maritime industry and beyond. According to the MoU, NextChem will focus on the design and supply of the methanol fuel cell module, while Siemens Energy will leverage its expertise in onboard system integration, complete electrification and energy management with the aim of delivering a complete solution to shipyards and owners.
Ukrainian drones attacked the Azot chemical plant in Perm Krai on October 3rd, according to regional Governor Dmitry Makhonin. The strike reportedly disrupted production at the facility, one of Russia’s largest nitrogen fertilizer producers, located about 1,700 km from Ukrainian-controlled territory, which produces ammonia, urea, and ammonium nitrate.
Ammonia producer CF Industries says that it has shipped its first cargo of low-carbon ammonia from its Donaldsonville, Louisiana facility. The 23,500 tonne shipment was purchased by commodities specialist Trafigura to be used in Antwerp, Belgium by engineering materials firm Envalior in the production of low-carbon caprolactam.
Swiss technology company ABB has signed a term sheet agreement with SwitcH2 to engineer and supply automation and electrification solutions for SwitcH2’s floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) unit dedicated to producing green ammonia from green hydrogen, to support future demand for low-carbon marine fuels.
India is preparing to set up its first urea manufacturing facility in Russia to secure long-term fertiliser supplies and reduce exposure to global price shocks, according to Indian media reports. The proposed project, backed by Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilisers (RCF), National Fertilisers Ltd (NFL) and Indian Potash Ltd (IPL), aims to tap Russia’s abundant reserves of natural gas and ammonia, key raw materials that India lacks. The venture is reportedly scheduled to be announced during Vladimir Putin’s visit to India in December. The facility is said to aim at ultimately producing 2 million t/a of urea. India is currently the second-largest consumer and third-largest producer of fertilisers globally, but it remains vulnerable to global commodity swings.
Already a large urea supplier to the region, Indonesia has plans for several new plants to monetise its natural gas resources.
Kent, a global leader in integrated energy services, has been appointed by ACWA Power as owner’s engineer for the Yanbu Green Hydrogen Hub, a major green hydrogen and ammonia export facility being developed in Saudi Arabia. Situated in the port city of Yanbu on the Red Sea, the project will feature full integration across the green hydrogen value chain. This includes its own dedicated renewable power generation, desalination plants, ammonia production lines and an export terminal. At full scale, the facility will deliver up to 400,000 t/a of renewable hydrogen, converted into over 2.2 million t/a of green ammonia for international markets. With more than 4 GW of electrolysis capacity planned, the Yanbu hub is expected to be nearly twice the size of the NEOM Green Hydrogen Project.
Blue ammonia – ammonia produced from fossil hydrogen with carbon capture and storage (CCS) – offers a cheaper alternative than green ammonia for low carbon supply in the short term, and is more suited to retrofits.