(Oslo / Norway) – Norwegian fertilizer manufacturer Yara International ASA and Linde Engineering have signed a contract to build a green hydrogen demonstration plant. According to the company, the location is in Yara's ammonia production plant in the Porsgrunn Industrial Park on the Norwegian Herøya peninsula, almost two hours' drive south of Oslo. The electrolysis based on proton exchange membrane technology (PEM) has an output of 24 megawatts. Linde is currently building a similar plant in the Leuna chemical complex in Germany.
According to a Yara spokeswoman, the production capacity is more than ten tons per day, which corresponds to around 3.700 tons per year. This could be used to produce 20.500 tons of ammonia per day. The 24 megawatt system serves as the basis for a feasibility study for a future expansion.
The project aims to show “that ammonia produced with renewable energy can reduce the impact of carbon dioxide in fertilizer production,” explained the state-owned company. Enova SF, part of the Ministry of the Environment, is subsidizing the project with 283 million crowns (28 million euros).
Green hydrogen replaces fossil hydrogen
According to Yara, the plant replaced ethane, a main component of natural gas alongside methane, in production and thereby saved 41.000 tons of carbon dioxide per year. The electricity will come from renewable energy sources and provide enough hydrogen to produce 20.500 tons of ammonia per year, which can be converted into 60.000 to 80.000 tons of fertilizer.
The first green ammonia products are expected to come onto the market as early as mid-2023, both as fossil-free fertilizer and as emission-free shipping fuel. Yara is working on the project “ together with 13 European partners, including the Fraunhofer Institute for Microtechnology and Microsystems IMM.ShipFC“ involved. The company produces a third of the ammonia consumed worldwide. Yara has around 17.000 employees in over 60 countries. Annual sales for 2020 were $11,6 billion.
Linde plc, a provider of engineering services and industrial gases, among other things, based in Dublin, Ireland, with operational headquarters in Guildford, UK, achieved annual sales of $2020 billion in 74.000 with around 27 employees worldwide.
Photos
Yara is building a demonstration plant to produce green ammonia on Herøya. © Yara International ASA
Information on production capacity was added to the article on February 4, 2022. d.Red.
