UK Ammonia Alliance launches to power decarbonization and economic growth

A coalition of businesses has formed the UK Ammonia Alliance (UKAA) to drive adoption of low-carbon ammonia across industry, energy, agriculture, and transport to support the UK’s energy security, decarbonization, and economic growth.

Considered essential for modern agriculture and industry, ammonia has long been used in fertilizers, refrigeration, and manufacturing. Today, low-carbon ammonia is said to offer a pathway to decarbonize these vital sectors while also being used in new applications, including hydrogen transport and storage, power generation, and sustainable fuels.

The UK Ammonia Alliance said it seeks to support industries in adopting these solutions at scale. It also called for a supportive government policy to ensure the UK captures the full economic, energy security, and decarbonization benefits of this growing market.

As disclosed, the alliance will hold its first public event in parliament next month, where it will launch a policy paper setting out key steps to unlocking the UK’s ammonia opportunity.

The founding members of the UKAA are AFC Energy, Air Products, Blended Products, Clean Air Power, Exolum, Green Cat Hydrogen, HYCAP, Industrial Chemicals Limited, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, N-Gen Energy, and Statkraft.

Mike Rendall, CTO of AFC Energy and Chair of the UKAA, said: “Ammonia represents a major opportunity for the UK to accelerate the energy transition while driving industrial growth… As the Alliance’s first Chair, I’m looking forward to building a unified industry voice to help channel the UK’s innovation and expertise into good jobs, clean energy and food security for people across the UK.”

Multinational ammonia trade groups have welcomed the launch of the UKAA.

Trevor Brown, Executive Director of the Ammonia Energy Association, commented: “The Ammonia Energy Association welcomes the establishment of the UK Ammonia Alliance… The UK has world-class R&D capabilities and industrial expertise, and it offers a strategic location as an import/export hub. For these reasons we look forward to sharing our global knowledge and expertise, and working together with the UKAA to support the growth of the clean ammonia market in the UK.”

Stephen Jackson, CEO of Ammonia Europe, stated: “I welcome the launch of the UK Ammonia Alliance. It’s great to see this national initiative take shape, which will be a strong complement to Ammonia Europe’s work to decarbonise the European ammonia industry and drive uptake of clean ammonia…”