CIP announces plans for Power-to-X-facility
By:
Tom Russell
24/02/2021
CIP
Danish fund management
company CIP has unveiled plans to establish Europe’s largest production
facility of CO2-free green ammonia. The project will be located in the
town of Esbjerg on the west coast of Denmark, where the Power-to-X-facility
will convert power from offshore wind turbines to green ammonia.
This will be used by the agriculture sector as CO2-free green fertilizer
and by the shipping industry as CO2-free green fuel. The excess heat will
be used to provide heating for around one third of the local households
in Esbjerg. The facility will consist of 1GW electrolysis. Ultimately,
this is expected to reduce CO2-emissions by about 1.5 million tons yearly,
the equivalent to removing 730,000 cars from the roads permanently.
The announcement was made by CIP in collaboration with members of the agriculture
and shipping industries. Arla, Danish Crown and DLG are all part of the
collaboration, and together they represent a significant part of the agricultural
value chain: dairy, meat, and crops production. The project companies also
include AP Moller – Maersk and DFDS, representing the shipping sector.
Together with CIP, they have signed a memorandum of understanding, in which
the signatories commit themselves to work towards realising the establishment
of the facility.
“With this project, we support further development to cut CO2 emission
from agriculture and shipping in Denmark, through the use of CO2-free green
fertilizers and green fuel. The agriculture and shipping industries are
industries, which are embarking on a journey of decarbonization. Solutions
such as Power-to-X are key for these industries to take the next big leap
within the decarbonization,“ said Christian Skakkebæk, Senior Partner
in CIP, responsible for the Energy Transition Fund.
“Power-to-X is a new chapter in attractive green investment opportunities.
With CIP’s new Energy Transition Fund, we as potential investors are provided
the opportunity to directly participate in the next phase of the energy
transition. This is a natural evolution for us at PensionDanmark. More
than 10 years ago, we were a first mover into renewable infrastructure
investments including offshore wind. We are excited about the opportunity
to continue investing with CIP at the forefront of the energy market developments,
beginning with the project in Esbjerg, and will present the opportunity
to our Board next month,” said Torben Möger Pedersen, CEO PensionDanmark
and chairman of the Danish Government’s Climate Partnership on Finance.
”With the current plans for expanding offshore wind, such as the Danish
government’s plans for the world’s first energy island, we expect that
this will bring growth and employment for our entire region – and it will
place Denmark firmly on the global sustainability world map”, added
Jesper Frost Rasmussen, mayor of Esbjerg.