Fertiglobe—a partnership between fertiliser supplier OCI and the UAE’s Adnoc—has sold its first cargo of blue ammonia to Itochu in Japan for use in fertiliser production.

Blue ammonia is made from nitrogen and blue hydrogen. Fertiglobe says the shipments were sold at an “attractive” premium to grey ammonia.

Abu Dhabi’s Supreme Petroleum Council wants to position the nation as a major international supplier of ammonia and hydrogen.

“We aim to create a wide range of ammonia value chains for existing industrial applications” Tanaka, Itochu

Earlier this year, Adnoc agreed on a joint study agreement with three Japanese firms —Inpex, Jera and Jogmec—to explore the commercial potential of blue ammonia production in the UAE. The firm has also signed an agreement with Korea’s GS Energy.

“Through the expansion of our capabilities across the blue ammonia value chain, we look forward to furthering our legacy as one of the world’s least carbon-intensive hydrocarbon producers and supporting industrial decarbonisation with a competitive low-carbon product portfolio,” says Adnoc CEO Sultan Ahmed al-Jaber.

Adnoc already produces 300,000t/yr of hydrogen at the Ruwais Industrial Complex and is advancing a new unit at the facility that would be able to produce 1mn t/yr of blue ammonia.

Carbon capture

CO₂ from the ammonia production process will be captured and transferred to Al Reyadah, where it will be stored in Adnoc’s Rumaitha and Bab fields. Al Reyadah already captures up to 800,000t/yr from local steel production. 

Ammonia can be used as a low-carbon fuel across a wide range of industrial applications. It can also be cracked back into hydrogen for use as a transport fuel or in power generation.

Japan is actively looking to secure imports of hydrogen as it looks to decarbonise its energy system. The country currently has 135 filling stations—the largest network of any nation in the world.

“We aim to create a wide range of ammonia value chains for existing industrial applications as well as future energy use,” says Masaya Tanaka, executive officer of Itochu.

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Author: Tom Young