Tag: Green ammonia

ATOME has signed a definitive engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract with Casale for its Villeta project in Paraguay.

Hy2gen says that it has submitted its Courant renewable ammonia project to Quebec’s Minister of the Environment, marking the end of the planning stage. The Ministry will now define an impact study that Hy2gen must carry out to ensure that the project meets safety and environmental impact requirements. Project Courant aims to produce 230,000 t/a of low carbon ammonia for the local mining industry and region around Baie-Comeau, Quebec, using 300 MW of electrolyser capacity to generate renewable hydrogen in what Hy2gen says will be one of the largest renewable ammonia projects in North America. The plant is due to become operational in 2030.

The Port of Açu and renewable fuels company Sempen have signed a contract to reserve an area in the low-carbon hydrogen hub at the port, in the north of the state of Rio de Janeiro, for the construction of a green ammonia plant. The projected facility would have a production capacity of 1 million t/a of green ammonia. A final investment decision (FID) is expected for 2027-2028, with production of the first green ammonia beginning in 2030.

Six Japanese companies have agreed to explore investment opportunities for a large-scale green ammonia plant in Odisha, India, being planned by Acme Group. Last year, IHI Corporation agreed to import up to 400,000 t/a from Acme’s project. IHI has now signed a memorandum of understanding with Hokkaido Electric Power, Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Company, Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL), Mizuho Bank, and Tokyo Century Corporate. The partners plan to create a special-purpose company for ammonia production and investment participation. Hokkaido Electric is testing ammonia co-firing at its coal-fired power plant and studying infrastructure needs, while Mitsubishi Gas Chemical wants to decarbonise its ammonia use. Mizuho Bank is planning to invest up to $13 billion in hydrogen and ammonia supply chains by 2030, and Tokyo Century is exploring green ammonia as part of its shift beyond solar to support carbon neutrality.

ATOME says that it has signed a $465 million fixed-price, lump-sum engineering, procurement and construction contract with Casale for its 260,000 t/a green fertiliser plant at Villeta, Paraguay. ATOME believes that this is the first dedicated green fertiliser facility of this scale worldwide. The plant will use 100% renewable baseload power to generate hydrogen for ammonia to supply low carbon fertilizer for the Mercosur region. The project timeline is 38 months, with start-up and first ammonia production expected in 2028. Casale joins Yara, Hy24, AECOM, Natixis, IDB Invest and ANDE as partners to the project. In March ATOME signed non-binding heads of terms with Hy24’s managed Clean H2 Infra Fund for an up to $115 million investment in the project. A full definitive equity agreement is expected in Q2 2025, with final investment decision and full financial closure targeted by the end of the quarter. The full terms envisage a total funding for the project of approximately $625 million which includes not only the cost of construction but also financing, interest, transaction and supervision costs during the build period, with at least 60% coming from debt finance with the balance represented by project equity. ATOME says that negotiations on the definitive full offtake agreement with Yara International are “proceeding well”, with senior Yara representatives having had a successful visit to Paraguay at the end of January. It is anticipated that the definitive agreement will be signed by early Q2 2025, subject to necessary approvals.

Wi th future demand for both low carbon methanol and ammonia depending to a considerable extent on their take-up as low carbon shipping fuels, recent developments in the EU and IMO may help accelerate that process, as detailed in CRU’s most recent Low Carbon Hydrogen and Ammonia Outlook.

While green hydrogen and green ammonia promise to be important clean energy carriers in future, there are significant challenges to be overcome not only in production storage and transport, but also financially realising the project. Innovate technology from thyssenkrupp Uhde, embodied in standardised, pre-integrated, modularised plant can deliver low cost of ownership and de-risks execution.

Risk analysis tools such as hazard identification (HAZID), is often a first step in broader risk management and is especially valuable for green ammonia, where new technologies and processes introduce novel risks. This article explores various aspects of HAZID, from the basics of hazard identification to unique considerations specific to green ammonia facilities.

A review of papers presented at CRU’s Nitrogen+Syngas 2025 Expoconference, held in Barcelona from February 10th-12th 2025.

Esben Sørensen and Glenn Rexwinkel of Plug Power review the safety aspects of integrating hydrogen production by electrolysis into existing ammonia processes. Novel safety risks associated with such changes are surmountable and the analysis presented shows that green ammonia production can be no more hazardous than traditional ammonia production.