Editorial Comment

Imagine living in the world’s most sustainable city. While this might seem like a pipe dream to most of us, inhabitants of Gothenburg, Sweden, don’t have to imagine, with the city having earned this very title from the Global Destination Sustainability Index for seven consecutive years.¹

Sweden appears to have been far ahead of the trend towards sustainability for many years, with the country’s government having advocated for green initiatives from as early as the 1990s. Once a humble and gritty industrial port, politicians and business leaders took it upon themselves to develop Gothenburg into the trailblazer of sustainability that it is today. The southern islands of the Gothenburg archipelago are car free, connecting people via ferries and bicycles, not to mention the fact that the city became the first in the world to issue green bonds as an incentive to invest in climate solutions.²

Whilst it might feel like the rest of the world is playing catch up, there is no doubt that the global fertilizer industry has begun to prioritise more sustainable operations, from production to distribution, in an effort to decarbonise the food value chain. A diverse cross section of producers have recently shared a flurry of updates on projects designed to reduce the sector’s environmental footprint. For instance, earlier this month, it was announced that Tecnimont would develop a green hydrogen and ammonia plant in Portugal, as part of a FEED contract by MadoquaPower2X.³ Stamicarbon is also set to deploy a low-energy design for a urea melt plant in China; the technology is based upon a reduced use of high-pressure steam, resulting in a more energy efficient operation.⁴ In terms of powering more sustainable fertilizer ventures, ATOME’s Central America company, National Ammonia Corporation S.A., has shared its plans to evaluate the feasibility of securing renewable electricity for the country’s first industrial scale green ammonia project.⁵

Set to showcase the sector’s innovations and best practices targeted towards a greener future is CRU’s 37^th Nitrogen + Syngas conference, held this year in none other than the sustainable hub of Gothenburg, Sweden. The show’s agenda is packed full of technical presentations, discussing topics such as sustainable urea production processes, and revisiting heat exchange applications amidst the push for decarbonisation.

With workshops dedicated to low carbon projects, the conference promises to be an exciting and inspiring experience. If you’re heading to Gothenburg for the occasion from 04 – 06 March, have a fantastic time, and don’t forget to pick up a copy of World Fertilizer while you’re there.

Emily Thomas