Fertilizer factory is going to make green ammonia

Fertilizer manufacturer Yara wants to switch to green hydrogen for the production of ammonia. It should result in significant CO2 savings for the factory in Sluiskil in Zeeland, one of the largest energy guzzlers in the Netherlands. The energy comes from a large new offshore wind farm. 

Yara is collaborating on this with the Danish Ørsted, the largest developer of offshore wind farms. The 2 parties speak of a 'groundbreaking project'. The idea is to produce green ammonia, one of the most important ingredients for fertilizers. For this, fossil hydrogen is replaced by renewable hydrogen.

The project has the potential to save 100.000 tons of CO2. That is comparable to taking 50.000 petrol cars off the road. The condition is that announced hydrogen technology and the correct regulations are ready by the end of 2021. Then the project is expected to be operational in 2024 or 2025.

Renewable hydrogen
Yara is switching to renewable hydrogen for the production of green ammonia. A 100MW electrolyser is being developed for this. A new offshore wind farm in Ørsted is to feed this installation. This second largest wind farm in the world is located off the coast of Zeeland, near the factory in Sluiskil.

The renewable hydrogen can be used to produce approximately 75.000 tons of green ammonia per year. That is approximately 10% of the capacity of the largest of the ammonia plants in Sluiskil. The green ammonia is intended for the production of green fertilizers. In the future, it may also be used for climate-neutral marine fuel.

Costs even significantly higher
Hydrogen produced from renewable energy sources is a CO2-free alternative to hydrogen based on fossil sources. However, the costs are currently considerably higher. For the time being, this makes government support necessary to be able to produce renewable hydrogen on a large scale.

Ørsted and Yara are also seeking public co-financing to support the development and construction of their facility. Subject to sufficient co-financing and a good business case, a final investment decision for the construction of the new factory will be taken at the end of 2021 or early 2022.

Jeanette Pennings

Jeannet has her roots in the flower bulb sector and she grew up on an agricultural company in the northern part of North Holland. As a generalist she reports for Boerenbusiness across all sectors. She is also exploring the possibilities of sponsored advertising.

j.pennings@boerenbusiness. Nl

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