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Tag: Ammonia

Yara seeking permit for rail transport of ammonia

Yara has applied for a new environmental permit in order to be able to import 275,000 t/a of ammonia by rail to its site at Tertre in the Saint-Ghislain municipality. The permit will cover ammonia to continue to operate downstream nitric acid and ammonium nitrate production at Tertre following the closure of the site’s 400,000 t/a ammonia plant. A public inquiry into the permit is expected to be completed in early September 2025. Yara says that train traffic to the site will increase to around 5 trains per week if the permit is granted.

Study on ammonia fuel storage tanks and transportation equipment

Shipping classification society ClassNK has formed a consortium with IHI Corporation, JFE Steel, Tohoku University, and Institute of Science Tokyo to participate in Japan’s Feasibility Study Program on Energy and New Environmental Technology. The consortium will promote the development of stress corrosion cracking (SCC) probability evaluation tools for fuel ammonia storage tanks and transportation equipment. Initially, the consortium will conduct a detailed study of the SCC mechanism involved in steel cracking due to the combined effects of mechanical stress and corrosion caused by liquid ammonia. Thereafter, the consortium plans to develop tools for easily and accurately assessing SCC probability. Finally, opinions will be solicited from stakeholders to formulate risk-based maintenance procedures for fuel ammonia storage and transportation facilities, and marine fuel tanks ultimately to promote the expanded use of fuel ammonia.

Dangote to fund new urea plant

Aliko Dangote, self styled “Africa’s richest man”, has signed a $2.5 billion partnership with the Ethiopian Government to build one of the world’s largest single-site fertiliser plants in Gode, Somali Regional State. The was signed on August 28th by Dangote Group and Ethiopian Investment Holdings, the government’s strategic investment arm. Under the agreement, Dangote Group will hold a controlling 60% equity share, with EIH taking the remaining 40%. EIH says that the facility will be “among the top five largest urea production complexes globally… with production facilities boasting a combined capacity of up to three million metric tons per annum.” The project will take gas feedstock via pipeline from the Calub and Hilala gas fields, with provisions for future expansions into ammonia-based fertilisers.

Green ammonia plan for Scotland

Norwegian state-owned power group Statkraft says that it is moving ahead with plans for a 400 MW green hydrogen and ammonia production facility in the Shetland Islands, after securing a land lease near the disused Scatsta Airport. Known as the Shetland Hydrogen Project 2, the facility will use electrolytic hydrogen to produce green ammonia for a range of industrial applications, including use as a sustainable marine fuel and to help decarbonise fertiliser production.

Green ammonia project proposal

The Namibian mining town of Arandis is reportedly in discussions with Cleanergy Solutions Namibia concerning a $2.85 billion investment to develop a large-scale green ammonia production site at Aran-dis, targeting production of 200,000 t/a of ammonia in the first phase based on abundant local solar energy. The Aran-dis Town Council approved the project in 2024 and is in the process of acquiring 2,400 hectares of land for the project, which is subject to the award of an Environmental Clearance Certificate, expected in the second quarter of 2026. The construction phase of the project will begin in 4Q 2026, with operations due to begin in 2030. Local infrastructure development will include pipelines and storage tanks for water, hydrogen and ammonia, as well as port, railway, road and power infrastructure, and may include handling and storage facilities. Cleanergy Solutions is a joint venture between Olthaver & List and Belgian company, CMB.TECH. It has operated a green hydrogen pilot project near Walvis Bay since 2024.

Coal based fertilizer and methanol plant proposal

Suiso, a South African company specialising in blue ammonia production, is set to invest $1.7 billion in a coal-to-fertiliser facility in Kriel, Mpumalanga in the east of South Africa. The proposal is for a 1.5 million t/a ‘blue’ ammonia-urea plant which will replace South Africa’s annual imports of 1.2 million t/a of urea, as well as producing 235,000 t/a of blue methanol for fuels, using advanced decarbonisation and carbon capture technologies. Suiso is partnering with Sinopec Ningbo Engineering, Stamicarbon, and ETG – the latter will distribute Suiso’s fertilisers across Africa, supporting local agriculture and long-term food security.