Uniper, Dusseldorf, Germany, an international energy company with activities in more than 40 countries, and Greenko ZeroC Private Ltd., the green molecule production arm of the India’s Greenko Group, New Delhi, on Feb. 7 announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and Heads of Terms for Uniper to enter into exclusive negotiations for the offtake of green ammonia from Phase 1 of Greenko ZeroC’s ammonia production facility in Kakinada, India.
Greenko and Uniper intend to negotiate a pricing, supply, and tenure structure for a supply and purchase agreement for 250,000 mt/y of green ammonia based on the Heads of Terms.
Greenko’s Kakinada project is a multi-phase green ammonia production and export facility adding up to 1 million mt/y of green ammonia production capacity by 2027. The first phase of Greenko’s facility will produce green ammonia based on an electrolyzer powered by Round the Clock (RTC) renewable electricity produced by 2.5 GW of renewable assets in India and reinforced by their Pinnapuram Integrated Renewable Energy Storage Plant (IRESP).
Greenko said the key differentiator that sets this project apart is the integration of a pumped storage plant to balance out the intermittent and seasonality of renewable production and achieve a high annual plant load factor upwards of 85%, allowing for flexible and dispatchable supply of green ammonia.
Uniper and Greenko also intend to collaborate on the deployment of similar flexible renewable electricity to other hydrogen products such as e-methanol and sustainable aviation fuels.
Greenko touts itself as India’s leading energy transition company, and reports installed capacity of 7.5 GW across solar, wind, and hydro assets spread over ~100+ projects across 15 states and delivers 20+ TWh of renewable energy annually, constituting ~1.5-2% of India’s total electricity consumption.
Uniper is already heavily involved with other green projects, including plans to collaborate on a joint study with Air Liquide, Chevron, and LyondellBasell that will evaluate and potentially advance the development of a hydrogen and ammonia production facility along the US Gulf Coast (GM Oct. 21, 2022).
Another project is with ConocoPhillips and JERA Americas Inc., a unit of Tokyo’s JERA Inc., a collaboration to facilitate the development of a US Gulf-based clean ammonia plant with initial production of 2 million mt/y, and expansion potential up to 8 million mt/y (GM Sept. 9, 2022).
Uniper has also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to purchase 500,000 mt/y of green ammonia from EverWind Fuels Co., Halifax, Nova Scotia, a private developer of green hydrogen and ammonia (GM Aug. 26, 2022). The ammonia will come from EverWind’s production facility in Point Tupper, Nova Scotia, a multi-phase green hydrogen and ammonia production and export facility, which is in advanced stages of development and is expected to reach commercial operation in early 2025, the first in Atlantic Canada.
The German utility is also studying a green hydrogen project, H2Maasvlakte, at the Port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands, with the aim of making the port both a green hydrogen production point, as well as a major import hub (GM Oct. 14, 2022).
Uniper plans a German national hub for hydrogen in Wilhelmshaven, which will include an import terminal for green ammonia (GM April 16, 2021). Along with Dutch Vesta Terminals BV, Ulrecht, The Netherlands, it is evaluating the feasibility of refurbishing and expanding an existing storage facility at Vlissengen, the Netherlands, with the aim to create the first green ammonia hub, “Greenpoint Valley,” in Northwest Europe (GM Sept. 16, 2022).