Three European energy companies are planning to develop a green methanol plant in Spain that will capture around 380,000 t/a of biogenic carbon dioxide, which will be used to produce 200,000 t/a of methanol. Spanish renewable energy firm Magnon will oversee the carbon capture portion of the project, while partners Power2X and ErasmoPower2X will handle […]
Clariant says that its ShiftMax 100 RE catalyst is now in operation at INERATEC’s Era One e-fuels production plant in the Frankfurt Hoechst industrial park. The facility will transform around 8,000 t/a of CO2 into up to 2,500 t/a of synthetic fuels and waxes. The e-fuels produced at the INERATEC facility can be used as […]
thyssenkrupp Uhde and Uniper are entering into a strategic partnership to bring large-scale ammonia cracking technology to technological maturity. In the first phase, a demonstration plant with a capacity of 28 t/d of ammonia per day will be built at Uniper’s Gelsenkirchen-Scholven site in Germany. The plant will serve as the basis for the planned […]
Koppö Energia Oy has ordered a FEED (front end engineering design) contract from thyssenkrupp Uhde for its planned green methanol plant, as part of a power-to-x (P2X) project being developed by Koppö Energia in Kristinestad, Finland. The methanol plant will have a planned capacity of 450 t/d to support the maritime and e-gasoline fuel markets. […]
Two fertilizer plants, formerly part of the Interagro Group, are being offered for sale by the liquidator, Sierra Quadrant. The factories, Ga-Pro-Co in Săvinești and Donau Chem at Turnu Măgurele, are available for direct negotiation starting at €17.8 million plus VAT and €18 million plus VAT, according to the liquidator, with a public auction to be held in September. Assets available include plants for the production of ammonia, urea, nitric acid, ammonium nitrate and liquid fertilisers, as well as transportation infrastructure for both road and rail.
OCP Nutricrops has received a certification that its customised phosphate fertilizers, developed specifically for the European market, meet the EU’s stringent low cadmium content requirements. The certified fertilizers contain less than 20 milligrams of cadmium per kilogram of phosphorus pentoxide (P2 O5 ), far below the European Union’s regulatory ceiling of 60 mg/kg. OCP Nutricrops says that it plans to expand this low-cadmium benchmark across all its fertilizer products worldwide by the end of 2025. Reducing cadmium in agricultural fertilizers is considered a public health priority across Europe. This initiative is closely aligned with EU goals to mitigate food-related health risks and safeguard ecosystems from harmful contaminants.
Horisont Energi says that it has secured a non-binding offtake deal with “a European energy group” for ammonia sales from its Barents Blue clean ammonia plant at Markoppnes in northern Norway. Sales and purchase agreements are targeted for completion in 2026. Horisont is pressing ahead with the 1 million t/a project in spite of the withdrawal of project partner Fertiberia, and the exit of Polish company Orlen from a related CCS project. Front end engineering and design work has not yet been completed, but the project has been working on commercial agreements for the supply of gas, offtake of clean ammonia and storage of CO2 . Carbon capture is projected to be above 99%, and it is expected to be the most energy-efficient clean ammonia plant in the world. Barents Blue is supported by a $48 million grant as part of the EU IPCEI hydrogen program, Hy2Use. The project is targeting a final investment decision (FID) in 2026 and estimated production start in 2029/2030.
Achema says that it plans to “temporarily” suspend ammonia production at its site at Jonava from May 15th, due to the volatility of natural gas prices and competition from cheaper foreign imports. It currently plans to resume production in 3Q 2025. The facility has been operating at reduced capacity since 2021, and Lithuanian lawmakers have discussed converting the site to explosive grade ammonium nitrate production as part of a European rearmament programme.
Urea markets are well supplied at present in spite of Chinese export restrictions, but face volatility due to a number of trade barriers and other non-market pressures.
Global gas demand has returned to growth after the supply shock of 2022-23, but geopolitical tensions and short supply in LNG markets.