Ørsted and Yara to develop green ammonia project
By:
Tom Russell
05/10/2020
Ørsted
Ørsted and Yara have joined
forces in developing a project aiming at replacing fossil hydrogen with
renewable hydrogen in the production of ammonia with the potential to abate
more than 100,000 tonnes of CO2 per year, equivalent to taking 50,000 conventional
cars off the road. If the required public co-funding is secured and the
right regulatory framework is in place, the project could be operational
in 2024/2025.
Yara and Ørsted aim to develop a 100 MW wind powered electrolyser plant
for renewable hydrogen production, aiming to replace fossil-based hydrogen
with renewable hydrogen for ammonia production in Yara's Sluiskil plant,
located in the Dutch province of Zeeland. The renewable hydrogen would
generate around 75,000 tons of green ammonia per year - approx. 10% of
the capacity of one of the ammonia plants in Sluiskil - based on dedicated
renewable energy supply from Ørsted's offshore wind farms. Ørsted is about
to inaugurate its Borssele 1&2 offshore wind farm, the second biggest
in the world, located off the coast of Zeeland close to the Sluiskil plant.
The green ammonia is intended to be used in the production of carbon neutral
fertilizer products, decarbonizing the food value chain, and also has potential
as a future climate neutral shipping fuel.
Hydrogen produced from renewable energy sources offers a carbon-free alternative
to fossil-based hydrogen, but currently comes at a significantly higher
cost. Closing this cost gap takes time and will depend on public support
to supplement private investments in large-scale renewable hydrogen and
ammonia production. Ørsted and Yara will therefore now seek public co-funding
for the development and construction of the 100MW electrolyser facility
to support the project. Subject to sufficient co-funding and a confirmed
business case, a final investment decision to build the new plant could
be taken late 2021 or early 2022.
"Ørsted is committed to investing in renewable hydrogen production
at scale, and with the right support in place this joint flagship project
between Yara and Ørsted will not only lead to a significant reduction of
CO2 emissions, but also help mature the technology for the wider decarbonisation
of European industry", says Martin Neubert, Executive Vice President
and CEO of Ørsted Offshore.
"Green ammonia can be essential to enable sustainable food production,
in addition it is emerging as the most promising carbon neutral energy
carrier for several energy applications, such as decarbonized shipping
fuel. Teaming up with Ørsted in this project in the Netherlands represents
a major step forward in enabling Yara to deliver on its strategic ambitions",
says Terje Knutsen, Executive Vice President and head of Farming Solutions
in Yara.
This project can be a milestone on the hydrogen roadmap of the Smart Delta
Resources cluster in Zeeland, and an important step in the scaling of renewable
hydrogen in the Netherlands towards 3-4 GW by 2030.
