Section: CRUNS Industry News

Polymer manufacturer Covestro has signed a memorandum of understanding with ammonia and urea exporter Fertiglobe and chemical producer TA’ZIZ to explore collaboration across the ammonia and nitric acid value chains. The MoU reflects the parties’ shared interest in assessing both near-term supply solutions and longer-term opportunities supporting the transition toward lower-carbon production pathways. The agreement was signed during the visit of German Chancellor Friedrich Merz to the UAE.

Avalon Renovables says that it has begun the administrative process to obtain environmental permits for the company’s planned Arquillo green hydrogen plant at Jerez de la Frontera. The plant is one of eight green hydrogen plans planned as part of the Bays of Algeciras and Cádiz Project (PBAC), with pipeline tie-ins to the future green ammonia plant in Campo de Gibraltar. The plant will include a 47 MW solar voltaic power plant called Arquillo, feeding 35 MW of electrolysis capacity, with an estimated output of 4,900 t/a of hydrogen.

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.”

Pilbara Ports has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Yara Pilbara for low carbon ammonia bunkering. The companies have agreed to collaborate on government and stakeholder advocacy, develop a training program for safe ammonia handling, and are planning the necessary fuelling infrastructure at Dampier and Port Hedland ports as part of the Pilbara Clean Fuel Bunkering Initiative.

Asahi Kasei Corp says that it has begun operations at a demonstration plant using green ammonia production technology in January 2026, using hydrogen manufactured by Asahi Kasei. The plant, built by JGC, and using KBR’s K-GreeN® ammonia production technology, is part of Japan’s NEDO (New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organisation) Green Innovation Fund project. The hydrogen feedstock comes from a 10MW alkaline water electrolysis system at the adjacent Fukushima Hydrogen Energy Research facility, which Asahi Kasei has operated since 2020. Leading the design and construction of the ammonia plant, JGC will conduct the demonstration operation during the fiscal year 2026 to advance process optimisation and commercialisation studies.

PT Pupuk Kalimantan Timur (Pupuk Kaltim) says that it has begun work on a revamp to its number 2 ammonia plant. The plant, which was originally constructed in 1984, has a capacity of around 1,500 t/d of ammonia. The revamp, which is being carried out internally by Pupuk Kaltim, aims to improve energy efficiency at the ageing plant and reduce carbon emissions, according to the company. The revamp is expected to extend the plant’s operational life, improve production reliability, and support Indonesia’s long-term fertilizer supply amid rising domestic demand.

Madras Fertilizers Limited (MFL) has submitted a proposal for a new $1.1 billion greenfield ammonia-urea manufacturing project in Chennai, aimed at strengthening domestic fertiliser production and reducing import dependence. The company says that the project is aligned with the government’s broader push for self-reliance in critical agri-inputs and improved food security. The proposed plant will have a capacity of 1.3 million t/a of urea and is currently at the feasibility study stage, but MFL says that its existing 1970s vintage plant is already running at 120% of nameplate capacity, and that a new larger scale facility would see significant improvements in output and operating efficiency.

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.

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.

The European Commission (EC) officially proposed to suspend, for one year, the most favoured nation (MFN) duties on imports of several key nitrogen-containing fertilizers and inputs for their production, including ammonia and urea, officials said 24 February. The tariff suspension will be implemented for all countries, except Russia and Belarus, through duty-free tariff rate quotas, the Commission noted. Imports beyond these quotas will be subject to standard MFN duties, it added.