(Oslo/Norway) – Aker Horizons Hydrogen, part of the Norwegian investor Aker ASA, and the Norwegian state-owned company Statkraft want to jointly explore the possibilities for producing green hydrogen and ammonia in India and Brazil.
India: Hydrogen for the steel industry
In India, the aim is to primarily target potential hydrogen customers from heavy industry, such as steel production. The country produces around 100 million tons of steel and, as the second largest consumer in the world, currently uses around seven million tons of gray hydrogen per year. Demand is expected to be around twelve million tonnes by 2030 and around 2050 million tonnes by 28. If India replaces green hydrogen with gray hydrogen, CO2 emissions would be significantly reduced while increasing energy supply security, the companies said.
Brazil: Green ammonia for Bahia
In Brazil, Aker, Statkraft and the German developer of wind and solar parks Sowitec Group GmbH want to jointly build Power-to-X projects in the state of Bahia. The first is a large-scale hybrid project that combines electricity generation from renewable energies with the production of hydrogen and ammonia for the local fertilizer industry.
Brazil is the fourth largest fertilizer consumer in the world. The country currently imports more than 80 percent of its needs. Recently, the Brazilian government adopted the National Fertilizer Plan 2022-2050, which aims to reduce dependence on imports by, among other things, encouraging foreign investment.
The state of Bahia in the northeast of the country has large resources of wind and solar energy. Replacing imported gray ammonia with locally produced green ammonia will promote the decarbonization of the local agricultural industry, reducing dependence on imports while creating new opportunities for industrial development. The project is scheduled to be implemented by 2027. The companies did not provide any details.
Photos
Sowitec wind farm in Brazil. © Sowitec do Brasil / Sowitec Group GmbH
