Yara launches green ammonia project

Svein Tore Holsether, President and Chief Executive Officer of Yara, said: “I am excited to announce that a full-scale green ammonia project is possible in Norway, where we can fully electrify our Porsgrunn ammonia plant.”

?Ammonia’s chemical properties make it ideally suited for the hydrogen economy. It does not require cooling to extreme temperatures, and has a higher energy density than liquid hydrogen, making it more efficient to transport and store. Ammonia is therefore the most promising hydrogen carrier and zero-carbon shipping fuel.

Yara aims to capture opportunities within shipping, agriculture and industrial applications, in a market expected to grow by 60% over the next two decades. Against this backdrop, Yara announces plans to fully electrify its ammonia plant in Porsgrunn, Norway, with the potential to cut 800 000 tpy of CO₂, equivalent to the emissions from 300 000 passenger cars.

To make its vision of zero-emission ammonia production in Norway a reality, Yara is seeking partners and government support. If the required public co-funding and regulatory framework is in place, the project could be operational in 2026. The project would eliminate one of Norway’s largest static CO₂ sources, and would be a major contributor for Norway to reach its Paris agreement commitments. Yara aims to fully remove CO₂ emissions from its Porsgrunn ammonia production and thereby produce emission-free fuel for shipping, carbon-free fertilizer and ammonia for industrial applications.?

Among other growth and improvement initiatives, Yara outlines a transformation of its commercial business models, sales channels and offerings, targeting revenue growth from new online services, outcome-based models and carbon market digital services, with an ambition to add UA$300 – 600 million new earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) by 2025 on top of existing initiatives.

“Yara is uniquely positioned to help decarbonise the food chain, with trusted relationships with millions of farmers in 65 countries,” said Terje Knutsen, Executive Vice President of Farming Solutions. “We see a clear opportunity to contribute to sustainable agriculture, while at the same building new business for both farmers and for Yara. As an example, we can directly address 70% of corn crop emissions with optimal crop nutrition and soil health measures.”

?Yara is targeting a 30% reduction in scope 1 and scope 2 emissions by 2030, and is committing to establishing science based targets, based on a collaboration with Nutrien and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), and supporting a sectoral decarbonisation approach analysis for the nitrogen fertilizer industry.

“We believe that shareholder value creation is stronger when the perspectives of people, planet and prosperity together shape the basis of our performance management. By improving our diversity, stepping up our climate ambitions and strengthening our financial returns we are making an even stronger Yara going forward,” said Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Yara, Lars Røsæg.

Read the article online at: https://www.worldfertilizer.com/environment/08122020/yara-launches-green-ammonia-project/