In focus: Ammonia emerges as a ‘trump card’ as countries dash for energy security

In 2022, the need for energy transition has become even more urgent. Even though the offshore energy industry struggled with soaring prices, the Russian-Ukraine war consequences and COVID-19 aftermath, these events accentuated the global need for green energy supply and energy security.

As we entered into a new year, the mission remained the same. In the next twelve months, the offshore energy sector will continue to work on the steps to ameliorate immediate challenges and climate change impact.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) has recognised ammonia, along with hydrogen, as an important fuel for future electricity generation.

Ammonia, as a compound of hydrogen and nitrogen, has shown potential in the context of clean energy transitions. It is classified either as ‘blue’ when it is produced from natural gas feedstock and the released CO2 is captured by CCS/CCUS technologies, or it can be labeled as ‘green’ when it is derived from electrolysis hydrogen produced by renewable resources.

The week behind us saw many projects focusing on exploring ammonia’s reduction-emission potential. Over the past few years, the sector has come up with designs of ships that would be ready to burn fuels such as ammonia.

French shipowner Louis Dreyfus Armateurs, through its Louis Dreyfus Ports and Logistics (LDPL), has developed an innovative vessel design capable of storing and supplying hydrogen using green ammonia.

To develop a new design for the ship, dubbed “Floating Renewable Energy Solution for Hydrogen vessel (FRESH)”, the company has assessed different technology providers and collaborated with specialized engineering companies.

“We believe that our innovation will enable a new and global import and export supply chain centered around renewable power sources and green hydrogen and ammonia as energy carriers,” Mathieu Muzeau, Managing Director of the Transport and Logistics division at Louis Dreyfus Armateurs (LDA) stressed.

Last week also saw the first high-tech ammonia-ready Armada vessel arriving in Europe. The first of eight robotic vessels that will form part of Ocean Infinity’s high-tech Armada fleet came to Norway for equipment installation.

The vessels are prepared for green ammonia as a fuel with fuel cell and battery technology and are designed for an ultra-low carbon footprint.

Meanwhile, offshore industry players are also trying to find ways to create a supply chain fitted for ammonia.

Norway’s H2Carrier and the Greenland-based company Anori have signed a Letter of Intent with the purpose of developing the first commercial offshore wind farm in Greenland as part of a project to produce and export green ammonia.

Green ammonia will be stored in tanks onboard the vessel, then exported to smaller shipping vessels and carried to the international market for ammonia, the companies said.

”At present, less than 1% of the global ammonia consumption globally is produced from renewable energy. We need to turn this around to come closer to 100% as soon as possible in order to reach the targets of the Paris agreement,” said Nicolai Fossar Fabritius, the Chairman of Anori.

“All industrial use of ammonia at present is associated with significant emissions of CO2. By building on established and proven technologies with a strong safety track record from oil and gas we have developed zero carbon solutions for ammonia which is a key ingredient in agriculture and the food industry,” H2Carrier’s CEO Mårten Lunde noted.

Germany has been at the forefront of the European efforts to produce and import green energy in line with the EU’s decarbonization efforts, but also as part of its strategy to cut dependence on Russian gas in the wake of Russia’s war in Ukraine.

To cope with the growing energy demand, Norwegian fertilizer company Yara International scaled up plans to modify its ammonia terminals in Germany, enabling them to handle up to 3 million tons of ammonia.

Yara is the world’s largest ammonia distributor, and its subsidiary Yara Clean Ammonia is currently rolling out a portfolio of decarbonized ammonia production. Green ammonia is produced with renewable energy and electrolyzers. The carbon emissions from blue ammonia production are captured and permanently stored. Together they amount to clean ammonia.

Furthermore, the company produces and consumes approximately 7% of European hydrogen. According to the company, the new project equtes to roughly 530,000 tons of hydrogen and will also help speed up the hydrogen economy in Germany.

As for the oil and gas sector, UAE’s energy giant, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) has revealed its plans to allocate $15 billion for low-carbon projects, covering carbon capture and storage (CCS), electrification, new CO2 absorption technology, hydrogen and renewables.

Moreover, the firm elaborated that its expansion of CCS is planned to support the scale-up of hydrogen and lower-carbon ammonia production capabilities in Abu Dhabi while advancing “a world-scale 1 million tons per annum (mtpa) blue ammonia production facility at TA’ZIZ, the industrial services and logistics ecosystem that is enabling the expansion of the Al Ruways Industrial City, as well as Abu Dhabi’s wider chemicals, manufacturing and industrial sectors.”

ADNOC also confirmed that it has already delivered test cargoes of low-carbon ammonia to Europe and Asia. The company’s expansion of its new energy portfolio will largely be delivered through its stake in Masdar.