Fertilizer major Fertiglobe joins world-scale blue ammonia project in UAE

LONDON (ICIS)–Dutch chemicals group OCI on Tuesday announced its nitrogen fertilizer production arm Fertiglobe has signed an agreement with TA’ZIZ to join a world-scale blue ammonia production project at Ruwais in Abu Dhabi.

The project will be created in the purpose-built TA’ZIZ Industrial Chemicals Zone, adjacent to the Ruwais Industrial Complex which will supply hydrogen and nitrogen feedstocks.

The 1m tonne/year plant will be the first-of-its-kind large scale project in the Middle East and north Africa, with a final investment decision expected in 2022 and start-up targeted for 2025, OCI disclosed.

Financial details of the partnership were not revealed, with the alliance subject to regulatory approvals.

The companies will jointly conduct pre-front end engineering and design (pre-FEED) and FEED activities.

Blue ammonia is made from nitrogen and “blue” hydrogen derived from natural gas feedstocks, with the carbon dioxide by-product from hydrogen production captured and stored.

OCI – which has fertilizer plants on several continents – said the development will allow the company to “capitalise on emerging global demand for blue ammonia as a hydrogen carrier fuel”.

Nassef Sawiris, executive chairman of OCI and CEO of Fertiglobe, added: “This venture fits well in our strategy to decarbonise our global and regional platforms.

“It helps grow our low carbon and clean fuels product offering, which includes our fast-growing biofuels business, further builds on our recently announced 365,000 tonne/year blue ammonia capability in Texas, and leverages OCI’s and Fertiglobe’s globally leading position in ammonia.

“It also capitalises on the huge potential that we expect ammonia to offer as part of the accelerated global shift to clean energy and as an enabler for the hydrogen economy.”

The senior executive described ammonia as “a versatile and clean hydrogen carrier, with many exciting fuel applications”, in addition to a wide range of fertilizer and downstream industrial uses.

“The use of ammonia as a shipping fuel is particularly promising as it is, together with methanol, the only practical alternative for long-distance shipping to decarbonise in a cost-effective way.

“This project therefore creates exciting growth opportunities for Fertiglobe that will strengthen its market-leading position.”

Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and ADNOC managing director and group CEO, described the agreement as “a significant milestone in the development of its blue hydrogen and ammonia business”.

“We believe hydrogen and its carrier fuels, such as ammonia, offer strong potential as low-carbon energy sources.

“The UAE is well-placed to meet increasing global demand for this new fuel while strengthening our position as a world-scale chemicals and industrial hub and top destination for local and international investment.”