Green Ammonia

Is Green Ammonia The Future? Green ammonia’s potential energy storage capabilities and role as a carbon-neutral fertiliser, carbon-neutral fuel, and hydrogen carrier means it offers vast opportunities for business investment and expansion. Green ammonia is regular ammonia (NH3) but produced using a 100% renewable process. This makes the entire production process a net-zero emissions process and could save up to 40 million tonnes of CO2 emissions each year in Europe alone and potentially more than 360 million tonnes globally.

The Production Process

Green ammonia is produced with a 100% carbon-neutral process. It is produced using hydrogen from water electrolysis that is powered by a renewable energy source (usually wind or solar). Nitrogen is claimed from the air using an air separation unit. Green ammonia is then synthesised by the use of the Haber or Haber-Bosch process which is again, powered solely by a renewable energy source. The Haber process for green ammonia is a clean combustion process and reacts nitrogen and hydrogen together in a high temperature and high-pressure chamber with an iron catalyst at around 450°C and 200 bar. These conditions create NH3 (ammonia) but are powered entirely by clean and renewable energy and emit zero carbon emissions, unlike the standard ammonia production process.

However, currently green ammonia production costs about $500 per metric ton to produce which is two to three times that of normal ammonia or synthetic ammonia, which is produced using natural gas.

Source: Yara Website, Green ammonia – carbon neutral fertiliser production, 2021

Green Ammonia Uses

Green ammonia is a multi-purpose, highly flexible asset that has a broad range of uses which makes it so valuable.

Energy Storage – Ammonia can be stored in bulk easily as a liquid at modest pressure and a temperature of -33°C. This makes ammonia perfect as a store of energy. Energy storage is a large issue this planet currently faces but green ammonia could be one of the potential solutions. Green ammonia can be used to store energy in bulk to be used when required. Currently, there are some existing distribution networks, where green ammonia is stored in large refrigerated tanks and transported globally.
Zero-Carbon Fuel – Ammonia is an easily combustible chemical. It can be used as an engine or fuel cell to produce power and offers a great fuel solution. The only bi-products of burning ammonia are nitrogen and water. This means unlike fossil fuels there is no CO2 produced.
Hydrogen Carrier – Hydrogen has many very useful applications and uses, but it is very difficult and highly expensive to store in large quantities. However, ammonia is much cheaper and easier to store and transport, which when purified releases hydrogen gas. Ammonia can be used as a hydrogen carrier as a more cost-effective method of storing hydrogen. To find out more about the hydrogen industry see our Hydrogen Investment page.
Carbon-Neutral Fertiliser – Due to ammonia high nitrogen concentration it is a highly effective and used agricultural fertiliser. The ability to produce green ammonia will provide a zero-carbon fertiliser to the agricultural industry preventing millions of tons of CO2 emissions per year globally and aiding to agricultural sectors aim of cutting emissions.

Market Watch

Adjacent Industries
These are some adjacent industry users:

• Transport

• Shipping

• Petrochemicals

• Energy Storage

• Agrochemicals

Market Players
Some of the main market players include:

• Siemens

• MAN Energy Solutions

• ITM Power

• NEL Hydrogen Solutions

• Yara International

• Haldor Topsoe

6 countries that have made some large steps in Green Ammonia include:

India Within India, ACME is set to launch its first renewable hydrogen and ammonia “semi-commercial” plant in Rajasthan state by July-August. There is an onsite solar farm of 4-5 MW and the plant will have the capacity to produce 5 mt/day of renewable hydrogen and/or ammonia.	Morocco The HEVO Ammonia Morocco project, Morocco’s largest announced green hydrogen and green ammonia project to date has been unveiled. The project will be jointly developed by Fusion Fuel Green, a green hydrogen technology company, and Consolidated Contractors Group S.A.L. In addition, Vitol is expected to manage the off-take of the green ammonia. The project is expected to begin in 2022, but once finished it is anticipated to produce 183000 tonnes per year of green ammonia and prevent 280 000 tonnes per year of CO2 being emitted.
Germany Germany is looking to use green ammonia as a hydrogen carrier and as a clean-burning fuel for industry, part of its effort to make Europe’s biggest economy climate-neutral by 2050. In detail the Government aim to invest €9 billion ($10.5 billion) on building up hydrogen as a green fuel and green ammonia.	United Arab Emirates The UAE is investing heavily in green fuels as part of the energy transition. The UAE is to build a $1 billion green ammonia facility as part of this effort. The UAE’s Khalifa Industrial Zone Abu Dhabi or KIZAD has announced plans to build a $1 billion green ammonia facility. This facility is for both regional and international markets and as OPEC’s third-largest oil producer this is a massive step in the energy transition. The plant is expected to produce 200 000 MT of green ammonia and to be powered by a 800 MW solar plant.
Saudi Arabia Air Products, ACWA Power, and NEOM announced a $5 billion green ammonia plant in Saudi Arabia. This plant is expected to be operational by 2025. This mega-development is projected to have the capacity to produce 1.2 million tonnes of green ammonia per year and to be powered by 4GW of renewable energy.	Global New market research around the global green ammonia industry estimates that the market size will increase to $852 million by 2030 from $11 million in 2020, at a CAGR of 54.9% during 2020 to 2030. The increasing investments in green ammonia and large scale developments around the world make a very positive outlook for the market over the next decade.

Explore the questions we can answer for you:

✓ What are the best investment opportunities available in green ammonia?
✓ What is the role of green ammonia in the hydrogen sector?
✓ What factors are currently limiting the production growth of green ammonia?
✓ Is the infrastructure required for green ammonia available or is a hybrid production process required?

Investment Considerations

Despite the huge benefits and opportunities green ammonia offers, there are still a variety of considerations to take into account when looking at its future.

Policies and Regulations – Ammonia is a highly hazardous chemical and therefore a lot of policies and regulations surround it. In the UK and Europe Pressure System Safety Regulations (PSSR) are in place. This regards equipment, protection, health and safety measures, and reoccurring assessments. In addition, Provisions and Use of Work Equipment Regulations (PUWER) 1998 is also enforced.
Other notable regulations include:
– The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999.
– Pressure Equipment Regulations 1999.
– Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations (DSEAR) 2002.

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) also have a set of policies and regulations surrounding ammonia to ensure safety and prevent dangerous incidents taking place. The regulation covers hazards, operation, maintenance, machinery, and emergency actions.
Price of Current Alternatives – The green ammonia industry is set for a very positive future, however today it is still a highly expensive process. Costing around $500 per metric ton to make, it costs about two to three times more than conventional ammonia to produce. Although as research and investment increase and breakthroughs are made, the price of green ammonia is expected to fall making it as price-competitive as its alternatives.

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Green Ammonia

The Production Process

Green Ammonia Uses

Market Watch

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