Fertilizer International 521 Jul-Aug 2024
31 July 2024
Fertilizer Industry News
Fertilizer Industry News
NORWAY
Yara opens Herøya renewable hydrogen plant
In a major milestone, Yara International has officially opened its renewable hydrogen plant at Herøya Industrial Park, Porsgrunn, Norway.
The company has already delivered the first tonnes of fertilizers made from the renewable hydrogen and ammonia produced at the site. These have been supplied to Swedish agricultural cooperative Lantmännen.
“This is a major milestone for Yara and for the decarbonization of the food value chain, shipping fuel and other energy intensive industries,” said Svein Tore Holsether, Yara’s president and CEO of Yara.
The 24MW renewable hydrogen plant at Herøya, the largest currently operating in Europe, was officially inaugurated on 10th June by the Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre. The hydrogen generated by the plant – via water electrolysis using renewable energy – replaces natural gas feedstocks and will cut annual CO2 emissions at the Porsgrunn site by 41,000 tonnes.
The electrolysis plant is manufactured by ITM Power and uses proton exchange membrane (PEM) technology. It has a nameplate capacity of around 10,000 kg/d for green hydrogen. This is enough to produce 20,500 t/a of green ammonia, which can be then converted to 60,000-80,000 t/a of low-carbon fertilizer.
Yara agreed a contract with Linde Engineering for the construction and delivery of the 24MW green hydrogen plant in January 2022. This project was partly financed by a NOK283 million ($26.5 million) grant from Enova, part of Norway’s climate and environment ministry.
“This is a ground-breaking project and a testament to our mission to responsibly feed the world and protect the planet. I want to thank our dedicated employees who have worked tirelessly to get this cutting-edge production up and running, Enova for supporting the project, our partners and our brave customers who are first movers towards a more sustainable future.
“We are very pleased to have delivered the first tonnes of low-carbon footprint fertilizers to Lantmännen, a partnership which serves as a concrete example of how collaboration across the entire food value chain is required to decarbonize. Together, we have made this important step towards decarbonizing hard to abate sectors,” said Holsether.
The low-carbon fertilizers produced using green hydrogen and ammonia will form part of a new portfolio called Yara Climate Choice. These products will benefit crops, says Yara, while at the same time contributing to the decarbonisation of the food system and reducing its climate impacts.
Low-carbon fertilizers produced from ‘blue ammonia’ – using carbon capture and storage (CCS) – will also form part of Yara’s portfolio in future, the company confirmed
“Renewable ammonia is an important part of the decarbonization puzzle – however, developing it at scale takes time. As the world is rapidly approaching 2030, we are also working to produce low-carbon ammonia with CCS to enable the hydrogen economy and develop the emerging markets for low-emission ammonia,” says Hans Olav Raen, CEO of Yara Clean Ammonia.
In 2023, Yara signed a binding carbon dioxide transport and storage agreement with the Norwegian Northern Lights project as part of efforts to reduce the CO2 emissions from its Sluiskil ammonia production plant in the Netherlands by 800,000 tonnes. Yara says it is also evaluating world-scale CCS projects for blue ammonia in the US.
“The world needs to act urgently on multiple fronts to reach the goals of the Paris Agreement, and CCS is a critical steppingstone to decarbonize rapidly and profitably. The green transition will require investments, predictable framework conditions, massive build-out of renewable energy and grid, continuously advancing technology, and a maturing market where demand and supply are developed simultaneously.
“The companies who take this seriously will have a competitive advantage. At Yara, we have already reduced our emissions by 45 percent since 2005, and with our strategy to profitably deliver decarbonized solutions quickly and at scale, produced with both renewable energy and CCS, we are uniquely positioned to deliver, both to shareholders, customers, employees and society at large,” said Holsether.
UNITED STATES
USDA investing $83 million in fertilizer projects
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced an investment of $83 million in domestic fertilizer projects across 12 states. The government finance will help build new fertilizer production plants, modernise equipment and install new technologies
The investment is part of the USDA’s Fertilizer Production Expansion Program (FPEP). This is designed to boost domestic fertilizer production, increase competition and reduce costs to farmers.
The new tranche of investment includes the following grants:
- A $25 million grant to 4420 Serrano Drive LLC for a food waste upcycling plant in Jurupa Valley, California. The new plant will supply around 90 local customers with a total of the 11,400 tons of organic fertilizers annually.
- A $4 million grant for Cog Marketers, which also operates as AgroLiquid, to build and equip a manufacturing plant in Lake City, Florida. This is expected to produce two million gallons of fertilizer components annually and supply around 200 retailers in Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina and South Carolina.
- Return LLC will use a $4 million grant to expand its current production plant in Northwood, Iowa.
Other grants were awarded to projects in California, Florida, Hawaii, Iowa, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oregon and Washington.
To date, USDA has invested $251 million in 57 projects across 29 states through the FPEP. That leaves around $649 million still to be allocated from the $900 million of FPEP funding the Biden administration committed to domestic fertilizer production in 2022. The FPEP was originally started in response to the doubling in fertilizer prices in 2021-2022 triggered by the conflict in Ukraine and other factors.
“The Biden-Harris Administration and USDA are committed to bolstering the economy and increasing competition for our nation’s farmers, ranchers and small business owners,” said USDA Secretary
Vilsack. “The investments announced todaywill increase domestic fertilizer production and strengthen our supply chain, all while creating good-paying jobs that will benefit everyone.”
Iowa slow-release nitrogen plant enters production
Landus has invested $15 million in a 75,000 square foot fertilizer manufacturing and distribution plant in Boone, Iowa. The project was backed by a $5 million grant from the US Department of Agriculture’s Fertilizer Production Expansion Program (FPEP).
This Boone manufacturing plant will produce over 100,000 gallons of foliar, slow-release nitrogen (SRN) liquid fertilizer in its first operational year and 250,000 gallons in subsequent years. It also features a freestanding building for chemical and seed storage.
The opening of the new site allows Landus to manufacture its entire AcreEdge Performance Portfolio in Iowa. This includes over a dozen adjuvants, seed treatments and foliar nutrients.
“This state-of-the-art facility is more than just a building; it’s a testament to our commitment to supporting our farmers and rural communities. By bringing fertilizer production closer to home, we are eliminating costly links from the supply chain, and keeping the farmer at the center as we hit the ground running with this new fertilizer production and distribution center. We’re looking forward to bringing US made, sustainable and fully customizable fertilizers to our farmers across the Midwest,” said Matt Carstens, Landus president and CEO.
Landus also hopes to have talusOne, a modular green ammonia unit developed by TalusAg, up and running by late August. The unit generates green ammonia using water, sunlight and energy and should produce 30 tons of green ammonia annually, once operational.
QATAR
QatarEnergy agrees 15-year urea supply deal with Koch
QatarEnergy signed a long-term urea supply agreement with leading US producer and supplier Koch Fertilizer at the end of May.
The 15-year supply agreement, which begins this July, covers the supply by QatarEnergy of up to 0.74 million t/a of urea to Koch Fertilizer. Under this agreement, Qatari-produced urea will be supplied to US agriculture and other international markets.
Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, the Minister of State for Energy Affairs, and the president and CEO of QatarEnergy, said: “We are delighted to announce the signing of this long-term sales agreement with one of our valued partners, solidifying our longstanding relationship with Koch Fertilizer. This agreement marks a significant step in advancing synergy and cooperation and fostering mutual growth and value for both sides.”
Mark Luetters, SVP of Koch Industries and the president of Koch Fertilizer, said: “QatarEnergy has been a cherished partner of Koch Fertilizer for more than a decade and we are thrilled to cement our mutually beneficial relationship for years to come. The agreement aligns with Koch Fertilizer’s long-term vision and presents an exciting opportunity to better serve our customers.”
Qatar is the world’s second largest global exporter of urea – with Qatar Fertilizer Company (QAFCO), a QatarEnergy affiliate, being the world’s largest integrated single-site producer of urea and ammonia.
BRAZIL
EuroChem starts MAP production in Brazil
EuroChem’s new phosphate fertilizer complex at Serra do Salitre, Minas Gerais, has produced its first batch of monoammonium phosphate (MAP) fertilizer.
Brazil’s president Lula da Silva officially inaugurated Serra do Salitre in March this year. The site will produce one million tonnes of phosphate fertilizers annually once it is fully operational – around 15 percent of Brazil’s domestic demand, according to EuroChem.
Bernardo Silva, Executive Director of the Brazilian National Union of Feedstock Industry, emphasised the project’s strategic importance to the country. “Expansion of local fertilizer production will not only strengthen the drivers of the Brazilian economy and agricultural industry but will also shield our country from market volatility and current geopolitical risk,” he said.
Brazil is around 70 percent reliant on imports for its fertilizer supply currently.
“The new complex is the Group’s largest international production project, built upon the engineering experience and expertise we have developed when delivering other large-scale projects,” said Oleg Shiryaev, EuroChem Group president. “Over the last few years, we have launched several greenfield potash and ammonia operations and continue to invest actively in enhancing them and in the social infrastructure.”
SPAIN
thyssenkrupp Uhde to decarbonise Fertiberia ammonia plant
Grupo Fertiberia has asked thyssenkrupp Uhde to modify and reduce the carbon footprint of its ‘grey ammonia’ plant at Puertollano, Spain.
A revamp project will partially convert production at the existing Puertollano plant from grey to green ammonia by injecting green hydrogen to partly replace the natural gas currently consumed. The revamp is designed to maintain nameplate capacity while minimising hardware modifications.
The green hydrogen required will come from a 50MW water electrolysis unit running on renewable energy. It’s injection to replace natural gas should reduce the ammonia plant’s CO2 emissions by up to 40 percent.
The original plant, which used naphtha as its feedstock, was licensed and built by thyssenkrupp Uhde in 1969 with a nameplate capacity of 600 t/d. It has been in operation ever since. Fertiberia and thyssenkrupp Uhde have subsequently reduced the plant’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through several revamps since the 1980s. This included projects to switch over from Naptha to natural gas and implement energy efficiency improvements.
In a first-of-its-kind project, Fertiberia started green ammonia production at Puertollano in 2022 using green hydrogen generated by a 20MW water electrolysis unit. Its installation formed part of the company’s ‘Net Zero By 2035’ strategy.
David Herrero, Fertiberia’s industrial director, said: “We are the first company in the agri-food sector that is committed to being carbon neutral within the next decade. This project is another step forward towards our goal to become one of the world leaders in the manufacture of low-carbon ammonia.”
Nadja Håkansson, CEO thyssenkrupp Uhde, said: “We are very proud to have been selected once again by our longstanding customer Fertiberia to further decarbonize its production. By gradually replacing fossil-based ammonia production with green ammonia production, we have a huge lever for the green transformation of agriculture and entire industry sectors.”
CANADA
Phosphorus added to critical minerals list
Natural Resources Canada added phosphorus to the country’s Critical Minerals List in June.
The Canadian government uses the list to safeguard and promote sustainable mineral exploration and extraction, advanced manufacturing, clean technology, as well as ICT and semiconductors. The listed minerals are often in short supply, integral to a variety of products, and critical to the energy transition and future economic prosperity.
“Critical minerals are the building blocks for the green and digital economy and demand for them will only grow throughout the global energy transition,” Natural Resources Canada said in a statement.
Canada first released its Critical Minerals List in March 2021 with a commitment to review and update this every three years. The updated 2024 list retains all 31 minerals from the 2021 list and adds three new minerals – high-purity iron, phosphorous and silicon metal – raising the total to 34.
These three additions follow public consultations with provincial and territorial governments, government departments, industry, indigenous groups and other interested parties. They were included for the following reasons: l Silicon metal is essential to the manufacture of chips and semiconductors, being used in almost any and everything electronic.
- High-purity iron ore is essential to green steel and integral to decarbonisation.
- Phosphorus, combined with potash, is essential for food security through the production of fertilizers. It can also be used in lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries and is therefore part of the strategic opportunity for Canada in the electric vehicle (EV) value chain.
“By updating Canada’s Critical Minerals List, we are taking a proactive step to ensure that Canada’s efforts to seize the generational economic opportunity presented by our critical minerals wealth is well informed by the most accurate market trends, geopolitical factors and science,” said Jonathan Wilkinson, Canada’s Minister of Energy and Natural Resources. “Investments in critical minerals projects create good jobs for workers, more avenues for Canadian innovation and lower emissions across the country — all of which form an important part of our plan to build a cleaner Canada and a prosperous, sustainable economy.”
