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Egypt’s Abu Qir Fertilizers will start using green hydrogen as a partial replacement for natural gas in its production processes, according to an EGC disclosure (pdf) released last week. The initiative would deploy 50 tons of green hydrogen daily to displace an unidentified amount of natural gas in Abu Qir 2 and 3 ammonia plants, while increasing the production capacity of the Abu Qir 1 ammonia plant from 1.1k tons to 1.2k tons. The project is expected to be completed within 12 months.
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Energy optimization is also in the plan: The company and the Swiss ABB Co. will implement an optimization system to reduce gas consumption at the Abu Qir 1 ammonia plant’s boiler by 2-4%. Abu Qir Fertilizers partnered with ABB Co. earlier this year for the supply of green hydrogen and renewable electricity to produce green ammonia.
The rationale: The company said in the disclosure that the move aims to mitigate any future disruption in the natural gas supply chain, which the company had suffered from last June leading to production halts amid unprecedented energy consumption during a heatwave, Asharq Business reported last week. The move also aims to reduce carbon emissions, while preparing for the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM).
The company has been preparing: Abu Qir Fertilizers signed an MoU with Swedish-Swiss multinational ABB Group, sustainable infrastructure solutions firm MPS Infrastructure, and Egypt’s state-owned construction firm Petrojet for the supply of green hydrogen and renewable electricity to produce green ammonia earlier this year.
Abu Qir is going big on green fuels: In 2021, the company joined Helwan Fertilizers and Al Ahly Capital Holding to establish a joint venture — Misr Methanol and Petrochemicals — with initial investments of USD 1.6 bn in Egypt’s green fuels sector focused on methanol. The trio is also reportedly considering a USD 1.2 bn investment into the first phase of a green ammonia plant in Egypt’s SCZone, which would produce one mn tons of methanol and 400k tons of ammonia annually once operational. Last year, Abu Qir also signed an agreement with the China International Energy Group (CIEG) to establish a green hydrogen plant at one of its factory sites, but the timeline, investment ticket, and production capacity were not disclosed.
