Erika Niino-Esser of thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions explains the importance of thyssenkrupp’s technologies for sustainable hydrogen and ammonia value chains in the global energy transition, and how they are contributing to a climate-neutral world. Several novel green hydrogen projects are also highlighted.
Yara and Lantmännen have signed an agreement to bring fossil-free mineral fertilizers to market.
The International Fertilizer Association (IFA) has signed a memorandum of understanding with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) over collaboration to support the FAO’s vision of transformative change and innovation in agriculture. Svein Tore Holsether, IFA Chair, signed the agreement at a live virtual signing in December together with FAO deputy director general Beth Bechdol. The agreement outlines collaboration to further shared goals and objectives with regard to the promotion of sustainable food and agriculture. Both parties will work together to raise awareness about the International Code of Conduct for the Sustainable Use and Management of Fertilizers (Fertilizer Code), promote education and knowledge transfer and continue their successful collaboration on fertilizer statistics.
Recent spikes in natural gas prices, particularly in Europe, have highlighted the tightness of natural gas markets around the world going into the northern hemisphere winter. Are ammonia and methanol producers on for a run of high gas prices in 2022?
Import duties on phosphates from Morocco and Russia imposed by the US government in 2021 have compounded a lack of availability of phosphate fertilizer caused by Chinese export restrictions and led to higher prices for US farmers. Are there knock-on effects possible for sulphuric acid demand?
CF Industries announced several interlinked board changes in mid-October. Current chair Stephen Furbacher is to retire at the company’s annual stockholders meeting in May next year. In a coordinated move, the board elected Stephen Hagge – currently an independent director of CF Industries – as Mr Furbacher’s successor with effect from the start of January 2022. The board also elected John Eaves, another independent director and the executive chairman of Arch Resources, as incoming chair of the company’s compensation and management development committee. He is taking over this role from the committee’s former chair Mr Hagge. This appointment also takes effect from the beginning of 2022.
More than 230 delegates from 45 countries participated in CRU’s Sustainable Fertilizer Production Technology Forum, 20-23 September 2021. To highlight this successful virtual event, we report on keynote and selected technical presentations.
Rapidly escalating natural gas prices forced plant closures across Europe during September. Worst affected was the UK, where a fire at a cross-Channel electricity cable and low output from wind energy has, combined with low domestic storage capacity led to a surge in demand for gas for power stations and wholesale gas prices reached a record 350 pence per therm (equivalent to $46/ MMBtu) in October. On September 15th, CF Industries announced that it was halting operations at both its Billingham and Ince fertilizer plans due to high gas prices. Although ammonia prices have also risen, they have not kept pace with gas price rises, and there is a limit to what farmers could be expected to pay. CF CEO Anthony Will said: “$900 is the gas cost in a tonne of ammonia and the last trade in the ammonia market that was done was $700 a tonne”. As these plants supply most of the UK’s carbon dioxide for food and drink manufacture, the government said it would provide “limited financial support” to keep the Billingham plant operational, and that plant re-started on September 21st. Meanwhile, BASF closed its Antwerp and Ludwigshafen plants in Belgium and Germany due to what the company called “extremely challenging” economics. Fertiberia ceased production at its Palos de la Frontera site in Spain, and Puertellano remained down for scheduled maintenance. Yara shut 40% of its European ammonia production in September, and OCI partially closed its Geleen plant in the Netherlands. Achema in Lithuania decided against restarting its ammonia plant following maintenance in August, and OPZ in Ukraine shut one ammonia line at Odessa, with Ostchem and DniproAzot likely to follow. Borealis in Austria also reduced production.
We report on the state of US fertilizer production and supply. The US industry – the second-largest finished phosphates producer and third-largest urea producer globally – has grown and developed alongside North America’s mature and sophisticated domestic farming sector.
Major fertilizer industry players such as Stamicarbon, Nutrien and CF Industries are ramping up investment in ‘green’ and ‘blue’ fertilizer production. Consequently, low-carbon production technologies are being scaled-up and deployed commercially.