Norwegian producer and shipowner Yara International is teaming up with Spain’s Cepsa to launch a hydrogen shipping corridor from the Netherlands.
The Yara Clean Ammonia (YCA) unit will form a strategic partnership with the oil company for the first such venture between Algeciras and Rotterdam.
YCA will supply Cepsa with clean ammonia volumes for the project.
“This partnership will lay a solid foundation for industrial efforts to secure clean ammonia and hydrogen for several downstream applications in Europe while securing the clean transformation goals,” said YCA president Magnus Krogh Ankarstrand.
The idea is to establish a safe, resilient, cost-efficient supply chain for delivering clean ammonia to Cepsa’s industrial and maritime customers in Rotterdam and central Europe.
The agreement also paves the way for Cepsa to deliver the first clean hydrogen molecules.
“Green hydrogen and its derivatives are the fastest, most viable and competitive solution to accelerate the energy transition in heavy transport and ensure energy independence in Europe,” said Cepsa chief executive Maarten Wetselaar.
Cepsa will also build a new green ammonia plant at its energy park in San Roque near the port of Algeciras, with an annual production capacity of up to 750,000 tonnes.
Yara has its largest ammonia and fertiliser plant at Sluiskil in the Netherlands.
After shipping, ammonia can be converted into hydrogen for distribution from Rotterdam, where a terminal is being built for the purpose. Pipelines will then carry it to Germany, Belgium and Denmark.
The companies estimate that by 2050, clean hydrogen will account for one-third of the fuel used in global land transport and 60% of maritime voyages.
YCA operates the largest global ammonia network, with 15 ships and access to 18 ammonia terminals.
