Engie, two UAE companies may develop 200 MW green ammonia project in Gulf state

France's Engie, the UAE's renewables firm Masdar and Abu Dhabi-based fertilizer company Fertiglobe may develop a 200 MW green ammonia project in OPEC's third biggest producer which is accelerating clean energy projects as part of net zero emissions pledge by 2050.

The three companies, which signed a collaboration agreement, will study the development, design, financing, procurement, construction and operation of the green hydrogen facility near Fertiglobe's ammonia operations in the industrial hub of Ruwais in the emirate of Abu Dhabi, Fertiglobe and Masdar said in Jan. 19 statements. The facility will come onstream in 2025, with Fertiglobe being the sole off-taker.

"This project will play a vital role in the development of the UAE's green hydrogen economy, and represents the first concrete action taken by Masdar and ENGIE following the announcement last month of our strategic alliance," Masdar CEO Mohamed al-Ramahi said in the statement.

"By working with innovative companies like Fertiglobe, we aim to support the UAE's leadership in green hydrogen, and work toward achieving the nation's net-zero emissions targets."

Strategic alliance

In December, Masdar and Engie announced the formation of a strategic alliance to explore the joint development of at least 2GW of green hydrogen by 2030, with a total investment in the region of $5 billion.

"By leveraging existing infrastructure, the companies will initially target local supply, with the aim of expanding capacity to create a giga-scale green hydrogen hub for the GCC, with the potential to export to other markets," Masdar said. "The strategic alliance will also explore opportunities to develop projects in other geographies."

The UAE, the first country in the Middle East to announce commitments towards net zero emissions by 2050, wants to have a 25% global market share of low-carbon hydrogen by 2030.

S&P Global Platts assessed Hydrogen UAE PEM Electrolysis on Jan. 19 at $4.2484/kg, unchanged on the day and Hydrogen UAE Alkaline Electrolysis at $3.6809/kg, also unchanged on the day.

Fertiglobe, in which Netherlands-listed OCI NV and Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. have stakes, has combined production capacity of 6.7 million tons of urea and merchant ammonia and will use the green hydrogen to produce green ammonia.

"The project marks another milestone for Fertiglobe's green ammonia portfolio and follows the announcement last month of our new 100 MW electrolyzer in Egypt," Fertiglobe CEO Ahmed El-Hoshy said in the statement.