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.
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.
KT-Kinetics technology has signed an $125 million engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning (EPCC) contract to build a hydrogen production unit at Petronas’ Pengerang Biorefinery, Malaysia. The hydrogen plan is expected to be operational by the second half of 2028, and will supply up to 38,000 normal m3 /h of hydrogen for the production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and hydrogenated vegetable oil (HVO). NextChem will license its NX ReformTM technology for the unit. The new biorefinery will process approximately 650,000 t/a of raw materials such as used vegetable oils, animal fats and waste from the processing of vegetable oils to produce sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) and bio-naphtha.
Trammo, Inc. and ExxonMobil signed a heads of agreement to advance discussions for Trammo’s long-term offtake of 300-500,000 t/a of low-carbon ammonia from ExxonMobil’s Baytown, Texas facility. The facility is expected to produce virtually carbon-free ‘blue’ hydrogen with approximately 98% of CO2 removed, and will use this low-carbon hydrogen to make low-carbon ammonia. Trammo, a leading international physical commodity trader, will leverage its market and logistical expertise to deliver and sell in Europe and worldwide this unique low-carbon ammonia for use as fertilizer feedstock and for other key industrial applications.
Gasgrid Finland Oy has awarded Worley a four-year framework agreement with an option for extension until 2032, to provide owners engineering services for Gasgrid’s hydrogen pipeline system development in Finland. This 1,100 km long hydrogen pipeline system is expected to link major hydrogen production and offtake centres across Finland and enable the development of hydrogen export routes to neighbouring markets. Gasgrid says that the planned hydrogen pipeline system will support cost-efficient, reliable and secure renewable energy market development for the Nordic countries and elsewhere in Europe. Worley will provide the OE services primarily through Worley’s offices in the Netherlands and Finland with support from the Global Integrated Delivery (GID) team in India.
Johnson Matthey (JM) has released new production performance data which shows the significant improvements in efficiency of existing steam methane reformer (SMR) based hydrogen plants with the use of its catalyst, CATACEL SSR ™ . The company says that the data show that the catalyst can increase hydrogen plant capacity by 15% and reduce reformer energy use per unit of hydrogen by 15%, with a 5% reduction in gas consumption per unit hydrogen, as well as ease of installation, and enhanced durability and heat transfer. The catalyst uses uniquely engineered structures of thin metal foils, or “fans,” coated with catalysts through a proprietary process, which offer greater surface area, higher durability, and superior heat transfer, essential for high-temperature processes such as SMR.
TotalEnergies has signed agreements with Air Liquide to develop two projects in the Netherlands for the production and delivery of some 45,000 t/a of green hydrogen produced using renewable power, generated mostly by the OranjeWind offshore wind farm, developed by TotalEnergies (50%) and RWE (50%). These projects will cut CO2 emissions from TotalEnergies’ refineries in Belgium and the Netherlands by up to 450,000 t/a and contribute to the European renewable energy targets in transport.
The partners in the HyLion network are planning to produce low carbon hydrogen from renewable energy in Scotland and convert it into methanol for use as a low carbon fuel in the shipping, aviation, and motorsport sectors in the UK and Europe. The HyLion project partners include ARUP, McPhy Energy, Bosch, E.On, CO2 Recovery Ltd, Mareneco Ltd, Cadeler A/S, and P1 Fuels. Management and IT consultancy MHP is providing strategic and operational advice on the development and digitalisation of an efficient supply chain. Around 9,000 t/a of hydrogen and around 45,000 t/a of green methanol are planned in the initial pilot plant, which will use 63,000 t/a of biogenic CO2 from E.On’s biomass power plant at Lockerbie and from local whisky distilleries for the production of methanol. Hydrogen will come from an 80 MW electrolyser supplied by McPhy Energy, using local wind energy, with pure water being supplied using Bosch technology. P1 Fuels’ technology will convert e-methanol into an e-fuel that fits seamlessly into the existing fuel infrastructure and offers a decarbonisation solution for the automotive industry, international and national racing series, and light aircraft, for example. Another customer for the e-methanol will be the shipping company Cadeler A/S. The plant is expected to start production at the beginning of 2028.
Johnson Matthey (JM) has signed an agreement with Bosch, a leading supplier to the automotive industry, to develop and produce catalyst coated membranes (CCM) for use in fuel cell stacks. JM’s high performance CCMs will be used in Bosch’s integrated, compact and scalable fuel cell power module for commercial vehicles, designed for longer distances.
Days 2 and 3 of the CRU’s 38th Nitrogen+Syngas 2025 Expoconference turned to the technical sessions, organised in three parallel streams covering: green ammonia technology, nitric acid and ammonium nitrate, plant operations and reliability, urea technology, digitalisation, carbon capture, emissions reduction and sustainable fertilizer production, and fertilizer finishing.