Tag: EU

The Ukraine war and associated tariffs and the EU’s carbon pricing system are keeping ammonium nitrate prices high.

Romanian state-controlled gas supplier Romgaz signed an agreement 29 May to acquire all production assets of fertilizer producer Azomures for a total consideration of approximately euro 69 million ($80.15 million), according to a report filed with the Bucharest Stock Exchange. The transaction price comprises euro 46.46 million ($53.96 million) for the plant assets, plus up to $11 million for the book value of consumables and raw materials, and $15 million to cover operating costs during the period between signing and completion. The deal is financed entirely from Romgaz's own sources. The transaction completion remains subject to approval by Romgaz's Extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders, an unconditional clearance from Romania's Competition Council, and approval from Bucharest's Foreign Direct Investment Screening Commission (CEISD).

Environment Committee MEPs have backed changes to strengthen the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), voting to extend it to a long list of downstream steel and aluminium products, tighten anti circumvention rules and set up a Temporary Decarbonisation Fund (TDF) for industry.

The European Chemical Industry Council (Cefic), which represents large, medium and small chemical companies across Europe, has urged EU policymakers to slow changes to the Emissions Trading System (ETS).

UK and EU policymakers are trying to bring down fertilizer costs without losing control of safety, climate and trade risks.

A coalition of European energy-intensive industries, including Fertilizers Europe, has called for an EU-wide cap on electricity network tariffs, warning that rising grid charges are becoming a “structural burden” on their global competitiveness and threatening investment in decarbonisation.

Strait of Hormuz disruptions linked to the Iran war have choked off fertilizer shipments from the Middle East and pushed prices sharply higher, prompting a wave of emergency support and trade measures as governments try to shield farmers ahead of key planting seasons.

Brussels has put Europe’s gas‑exposed fertilizer industry at the centre of its new Fertilizer Action Plan, warning that high energy costs and plant closures threaten the region’s nitrogen capacity and long‑term food security.

VK Arora of Kinetics Process Improvements, Inc. (KPI) looks at how – while carbon border taxes may reshape ammonia trade – the economics of hydrogen and electricity will ultimately determine the long-term competitiveness of European production.

HyOrc Corporation says that it has signed a project development and technology agreement with Bulgaria-based OnEnergy Group to develop a waste-to-methanol facility. Under the agreement, HyOrc will serve as the technology partner for Stage 3 of the project, which focuses on thermochemical conversion of refuse-derived fuel (RDF) into green methanol. The facility is designed to process approximately 50,000 t/a of RDF, operating around 330 days per year with a daily throughput of approximately 150-155 t/d. Expected methanol production capacity is approximately 38-42 t/d (13,200 t/a), subject to final engineering configuration.