Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power eyes green ammonia production in Egypt
Saudi Arabian power generation company ACWA Power will invest in an upcoming 600,000 mt/year green ammonia plant in Egypt.
PHOTO: Aerial view of a solar farm in the Sinai Peninsula near Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. Getty Images
The plant's capacity will be extended to 2 million mt/year, the ACWA Power's chief executive, Marco Arcelli confirmed in a social media post. However, details on the expansion plans, project timelines and potential allocation of green ammonia towards shipping are yet to be disclosed.
Green hydrogen as a feedstock for ammonia will be produced using wind and solar power, the company added.
Industry experts have cited Egypt as one of the destinations where green marine fuels like ammonia can be produced at a significantly lower cost given their abundant natural resources.
A Trafigura report last year suggested that e-fuels could be produced in Global South countries, including Egypt, at least two times cheaper than in Europe.
The report estimated that Global South countries could produce green hydrogen at $2/kg. In this case, the estimated cost of e-fuel produced using green hydrogen as input would be around $750/mt.
Moreover, green ammonia is also forecast to be a major component of the marine fuel mix by 2050, when alternative fuels are expected to be widely used to power vessels. However, since ammonia is highly toxic, the industry has also called for universal safety standards and regulations before vessels can safely bunker it.
By Konica Bhatt
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