Fertiglobe and TA’ZIZ join in on blue ammonia project in UAE

Fertiglobe, a strategic partnership between OCI and ADNOC, will join the blue ammonia production project at TA’ZIZ in Ruwais, Abu Dhabi.

Blue ammonia is made from nitrogen and “blue” hydrogen derived from natural gas feedstocks, with the CO2 by-product from hydrogen production captured and stored.

This agreement signed between Fertiglobe and TA’ZIZ is to further strengthen the UAE’s hydrogen value proposition.

The agreement is subject to regulatory approvals.

It builds on the ADNOC’s experience in carbon capture and storage, and ammonia capabilities of Fertiglobe, to develop the first-of-its-kind large-scale blue ammonia project in the MENA region.

The project benefits from its location in the TA’ZIZ Industrial Chemicals Zone, adjacent to the Ruwais Industrial Complex, which will supply the project with hydrogen and nitrogen feedstocks.

Since launching in 2020, TA’ZIZ has reportedly attracted significant interest from local and international investors. This new agreement marks the first international investor to partner with TA’ZIZ.

The companies are to jointly conduct pre-FEED and FEED activities. ADNOC is to undertake a sole-risk feasibility study on blue ammonia.

The Final Investment Decision is expected in 2022, and the start in 2025.

Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE minister of industry and advanced technology and ADNOC managing director and group CEO, said: “This is a significant milestone in the development of our blue hydrogen and ammonia business and capitalizes on the strong foundation that ADNOC has developed with Fertiglobe. We believe hydrogen and its carrier fuels, such as ammonia, offer strong potential as low-carbon energy sources.”

Nassef Sawiris, executive chairman of OCI N.V. and CEO of Fertiglobe, commented: “(This) helps grow our low carbon and Clean Fuels product offering, which includes our fast-growing biofuels business, further builds on our recently announced 365,000 tonnes per annum blue ammonia capability in Texas, and leverages OCI’s and Fertiglobe’s globally leading position in ammonia.”

“Ammonia is a versatile and clean hydrogen carrier, with many exciting fuel applications, in addition to a diverse array of fertilizer and downstream industrial uses. The use of ammonia as a shipping fuel is particularly promising as it is, together with methanol, the only practical alternative for long-distance shipping to decarbonize in a cost-effective way,” he added.