Fertiberia signs MoU to develop green ammonia project in Sweden

The project will require an investment of more than €1 billion and could become operational by 2026. The site, based on electrolysis technology, will only use water and air as raw materials. It will be supplied with renewable energy from wind and hydropower sources. This initiative, known as 'Green Wolverine', builds on Grupo Fertiberia’s decarbonisation efforts in Spain, as well as on the exceptional conditions offered by the Norrbotten region, where 100% of electricity production already comes from renewable sources.

Grupo Fertiberia, in partnership with Iberdrola, has already launched the first industrial-scale green ammonia plant in Spain. In the coming months, a 20 MW electrolyser will be operational at the Puertollano plant, and in 2023, another one that is 10 times more powerful (200 MW) will be operational at the Palos de la Frontera (Huelva) plant. Green hydrogen is a raw material used to produce green ammonia (which is, in turn, used as the basis for producing low-carbon fertilizers and other solutions. In Spain, this plan will continue to be carried out in phases until reaching a total of 800 MW electrolysers in 2027, with a total investment of €1.8 billion.

Now with the Green Wolverine project in Sweden, a new site in the Luleå-Boden area will be created, with more than 600 MW of electrolysers, a green ammonia plant producing 1500 tpd, and an annual production of more than 500 000 t of low-carbon fertilizers and industrial products. In addition to the latest electrolyser technology, the new site will be equipped with state-of-the-art processes, complying with the highest environmental and safety standards.

This investment, which will create 2000 jobs during the construction phase and another 500 highly skilled jobs when it starts operating, will contribute to the creation of a new green ammonia and fertilizer hub in Sweden. The green ammonia produced by Green Wolverine will furthermore be used to decarbonise strategic sectors of the economy, such as maritime transport or the mining industry, to name just two examples.

“Grupo Fertiberia hopes to become the leader of future sustainable crop nutrition in Europe. For that purpose, we are aware of the importance of developing fertilisers based on clean energy and locally produced”, declared Javier Goñi, CEO of Grupo Fertiberia. “The Norrbotten project is a new and decisive step towards our goal to produce low carbon fertilisers”. Right now, the company “is working on the detailed design & engineering of the project and is searching for partners who might contribute to making this project a reality and thereby decisively support the ambition demonstrated by Sweden in relation to energy transition and food self-sufficiency”. Sweden has no local production and imports about 600 000 t each year.

Read the article online at: https://www.worldfertilizer.com/project-news/21102021/fertiberia-signs-mou-to-develop-green-ammonia-project-in-sweden/