Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. (ADNOC) is exploring opportunities to support the climate-neutral transformation of industry through the creation of a low-carbon ammonia value chain with state government and industry representatives in Germany’s North Rhine-Westphalia. Last year, the company completed its first shipment of low-carbon ammonia to Germany.
The announcement was made following the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the Government of North Rhine-Westphalia, ADNOC and Currenta GmbH & Co. OHG (Currenta), a chemical industry services provider that manages and operates one of the largest chemical sites in Europe, Chempark, with locations in Leverkusen, Dormargen and Krefeld-Uerdingen, in North Rhine-Westphalia. Ammonia, a compound of nitrogen and hydrogen, can be used as a low-carbon fuel across a wide range of industrial applications, including transportation, power generation, and industries including steel, cement and fertilizer production.
The agreement was signed in Dusseldorf, Germany, by Her Excellency, Mona Neubaur, Deputy Prime Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia and State Minister for Economics, Industry, Climate Protection and Energy, Musabbeh Al Kaabi, Executive Director, Low Carbon Solutions and International Growth Directorate at ADNOC and Frank Hyldmar, CEO of Currenta.
Her Excellency, Mona Neubaur said: “We will do our utmost to expand the capacities for the generation of renewable energies and for the production of other climate-neutral energy carriers such as green hydrogen in this country as much as possible. However, it is also clear that we will have to import various green energy sources in large quantities in order to cover our needs and to achieve our climate protection goals. We are now building partnerships and a broad import infrastructure to supply our industry. The basis for our cooperations is diversification with many countries.”
The primary focus of the agreement will be the production and transportation of low-carbon ammonia and its application as a fuel in energy generation, including industrial-scale testing at Currenta’s site in Dormagen, Germany.
ADNOC has already invested in low-carbon ammonia, where the carbon dioxide (CO2) emitted during production is captured and stored underground. In May 2021, the company announced a 1 million tons per year low-carbon ammonia production facility at the TA’ZIZ industrial ecosystem and chemicals hub in Ruwais, Abu Dhabi. The company has significantly expanded its strategic energy partnerships across the hydrogen value chain and has shipped demonstration cargoes of low-carbon ammonia to customers in Asia and also to Germany as part of the UAE-Germany Energy Security and Industry Accelerator (ESIA) Agreement.