Danish Group Build World’s First Green Ammonia plant
A Danish group, comprising catalyst and technology company Haldor Topsoe, sustainable energy company Vestas and renewable energy developer Skovgaard Invest, plans to build a green ammonia plant in Western Jutland.
The plant, which the companies said would be the world’s first such facility, will produce more than 5,000 t/y of green ammonia from renewable power, preventing 8,200 t/y of CO2 being emitted into the atmosphere.
Vestas will supply wind turbines and solar panels to power an electrolyzer unit that will produce hydrogen for subsequent processing into ammonia – otherwise known as “Power-to-X” technology.
Haldor Topsoe will design the plant’s ammonia technology to secure optimal production and adapt to the inherent fluctuations in power output from the turbines and solar panels.
Once in operation, expected in 2022, the project will deliver proof of concept and experience, paving the way for larger Power-to-X projects in the future.
“We expect this to be the first plant out of several in Western Jutland, where both existing and new onshore renewable power projects can deliver cheap renewable energy for Power-to-X applications,” said Skovgaard Invest’s founder Jørgen Skovgaard.
“In Skovgaard Invest,” Skovgaard said, “we have the ambition to develop more and larger Power-to-X projects in the region, and we see many potential off takers, for example within agriculture, the marine industry, and export potential out of nearby industrial harbors.”
Green ammonia is seen as having huge potential to substitute fossil fuels with a sustainable alternative, particularly for international shipping that currently accounts for about 2% of global energy-related CO2 emissions. Ammonia is already used worldwide as a fertilizer and fossil-based production accounts for about 1% of global CO2 emissions.
However, the cost of green ammonia is significantly higher than its fossil-based counterpart. Consequently, Haldor Topsoe and Vestas said they are developing a dynamic, scalable and cost-optimized solution to improve the business case and increase the attractiveness of green ammonia as a sustainable alternative for fossil fuels.
The partnership will jointly invest in the project and have applied for public co-funding.
Author: Elaine Burridge, Freelance Journalist
