Svein Tore Holsether, Yara’s president and CEO, said the proposal is not just a unique decarbonization project, but a strategic investment that can establish new value chains for the output. “With Statkraft and Aker Horizons onboard, we gain key expertise within renewable electricity, power markets, industrial development and project execution, giving us a unique opportunity to realize the project,” he said.

Statkraft CEO Christian Rynning-Tønnesen added: “This project paves the way for new industrial development and can at the same time give Norway's important maritime sector a new competitive advantage, namely access to an efficient and emission-free energy source on a large scale.”

According to Yara, the conversion of its ammonia facility could potentially become one of the largest climate initiatives in Norway’s industrial history, targeting a CO₂ reduction of 800,000 t/y, which is equivalent to the emissions from more than 300,000 fossil fuel passenger cars.

Provided that power is available at the site and the required public co-funding is in place, Yara said the project could be realized within five to seven years. The plant is planned to produce 500,000 t/y of green ammonia.

Holsether explained that for hydrogen to be exported or used in long-haul shipping or fertilizer production, it needs to be converted to ammonia. Converting Yara’s existing ammonia plant is both faster and more cost-effective than building a new grassroots plant, but he added that the project will nevertheless “require good incentive framework and support from the authorities.”

Currently, shipping accounts for 2% of global greenhouse gas emissions, of which long-distance shipping represents 80%. Converting all long-distance shipping to ammonia would require approximately 500-600 million t/y of ammonia, around three to four times current world production. The Norwegian shipping industry has a stated ambition to reduce emissions from domestic shipping by 50% by 2030, which will require significant green hydrogen production.

In addition to the Porsgrunn project, the three companies plan to explore the potential for green ammonia production in Northern Norway as a future opportunity.

Earlier this month, Yara announced during its fourth-quarter 2020 financial results presentation that it is establishing a Clean Ammonia business unit in order to capture growth opportunities within carbon-free food solutions, shipping fuel and other clean ammonia applications.

Author: Elaine Burridge, Freelance Journalist