All posts by hlancey@bloomberg.net

JERA Demo Project Reportedly Launched

Carbon, Clean Ammonia, Japan, Low-Carbon

Tokyo-based JERA Co. Inc., Japan’s largest electricity generator, will co-fire 20% fuel ammonia with coal at its Hekinan Thermal Power Station from March 26-June 19, according to Reuters, which said some 40,000 mt is expected to be used during the trial.

JERA and IHI Corp., also based in Tokyo, accelerated the demonstration project because they have been able to install burners, tanks, pipes, and other equipment faster than they expected (GM June 3, 2022; May 28, 2021).

JERA, a joint venture between Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings and Chubu Electric Power Co., aims to be carbon neutral by 2050. The power producer is targeting having its coal power plants operate on 50% ammonia by the first half of the 2030s and shift to 100% of the carbon-free fuel by mid-century.

Morocco Offers Incentives to Green Investors

Ammonia, Clean Ammonia, Green Hydrogen, Low-Carbon, Methanol, Morocco

The Moroccan government is set to allocate 1 million hectares of land to green hydrogen projects as part of a plan to incentivize investors. The authorities will provide some 300,000 hectares for investors in a first phase, as part of the long-awaited plan announced on March 11 by Morocco’s Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch, according to Bloomberg.

The plots will range from 10,000-30,000 hectares and the offer applies to integrated projects, including renewable power generation, conversion of green hydrogen into ammonia, methanol and synthetic fuels, and related logistics, the government said.

The offer applies to projects proposing offtake both for export and for domestic use, it said. Some 100 national and international investors have already expressed interest in producing green hydrogen in Morocco, according to the report.

Moroccan phosphates group OCP Group SA plans to invest 130 billion dirhams ($12.3 billion) between 2023-2027 to ramp up its transition to carbon neutrality. The company last month received a $188 million loan from the African Development Fund (AfDB) to go towards the construction of three desalination plants powered by renewable energy as part of its green investment plan (GM Feb. 23, p. 35).

Last year, OCP lined up a €100 million green loan from the International Finance Corp. (IFC) to help fund the building of two solar power facilities that will provide clean energy to its operations in the Moroccan mining towns of Benguerir and Khouribga (GM Oct. 13, 2023).

INNOVX to Lead OCP Green Ammonia Program

Ammonia, Clean Ammonia, Green Ammonia, Green Hydrogen, Low-Carbon

INNOVX, Casablanca, a new company affiliated with Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P), has announced the creation of a new subsidiary, Hydrojeel, which is dedicated to green hydrogen and ammonia.

As part of its strategy, Hydrojeel will develop the Green Ammonia Program for OCP Group, primarily for the production of sustainable plant nutrition solutions. It said the program will mobilize significant investments in long-term capacity building in green hydrogen production technologies and processes.

“The creation of Hydrojeel marks a major step in our commitment to meeting the energy transition challenge and contributing to a sustainable future,” said Hydrojeel CEO Amine Houssaim. “With Hydrojeel, we are positioning ourselves at the forefront of innovation in the field of green hydrogen and green ammonia, reinforcing our leadership in renewable energies, and opening new paths for growth for our company and for our country.”

Low-Carbon Ammonia Project Updates   

Ammonia, Clean Ammonia, Low-Carbon, Thailand
  • Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Thai state-owned PTT have signed an MOU to conduct a pre-feasibility study on using 100% ammonia for gas turbine power generation in Thailand.
  • Yara Growth Ventures has invested in Dynelectro ApS, a Danish startup specializing in electrolysis manufacture (GM March 8, p. 29).
  • The Security and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) new climate disclosure rules will drop Scope 3 reporting requirements for companies, which would have entailed disclosing emissions from supply chain and customers (GM March 8, p. 33). For fertilizer producers this would have meant disclosing emissions from downstream farming operations. 

Compass Partners on Great Salt Lake Sustainability

News Briefs, U.S.

Compass Minerals on March 7 announced that it has agreed to a term sheet with the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands (FFSL) outlining voluntary water conservation and other commitments the company will be making in an effort to help preserve the long-term sustainability of the Great Salt Lake.

Compass and FFSL are currently crafting a binding voluntary agreement based on the framework established within the term sheet.

“We recognize that a healthy Great Salt Lake is essential to both the environmental and economic well-being of the region,” said Edward C. Dowling Jr., Compass President and CEO. “We are proud to be pursuing this voluntary agreement with FFSL and are committed to actively contributing to the health and preservation of this vital natural resource.”

Compass’ Ogden facility has operated on the Great Salt Lake for over half a century, producing sulfate of potash, salt, and magnesium chloride from the lake’s mineral-enriched brine. The Ogden operation currently provides nearly 400 local jobs and representatives of Compass participate on multiple policy and advisory groups focused on ensuring a healthy lake ecosystem.

As part of its regulatory authorities, FFSL is responsible for managing Utah’s sovereign lands, including the beds and banks of navigable rivers and lakes within the state.

“This agreement provides a framework where critical minerals can be extracted when the lake is at appropriate levels, and water is conserved as lake levels decline,” said Jamie Barnes, FFSL Director and State Forester. “We are pleased that Compass Minerals has actively pursued an agreement with FFSL, which will be the first of its kind for Great Salt Lake.”

During the 2024 legislative session, the Utah Legislature passed House Bill 453 (H.B.453), “Great Salt Lake Revisions,” which amends and expands current state statute governing mineral extraction on the Great Salt Lake, including but not limited to new severance taxes and a requirement for the state to develop a mandatory water distribution plan for mineral extractors on the lake.

Also included within H.B.453 were provisions allowing mineral companies to enter into voluntary agreements with FFSL, thereby enabling severance tax relief, protections against potential eminent domain actions, and the ability to proactively negotiate voluntary water conservation commitments.

Bion Applies for 10-0-0 OMRI Listing

Ammonia, News Briefs, Nitrogen

Bion Environmental Technologies Inc., New York City, a developer of advanced livestock waste treatment and resource recovery technology, announced on March 12 that it has applied to the Organic Materials Review Institute (OMRI) for an OMRI listing for its liquid 10-0-0 nitrogen (ammonium bicarbonate) fertilizer that is produced from livestock waste.

Bion said the product is a stable, readily available source of nitrogen that is upcycled in a patented process from the reactive ammonia in livestock and other organic waste streams. Bion in 2020 received an OMRI listing for its initial product, a 0.5 percent ammonium bicarbonate solution. Bion is also preparing an application to the California Department of Food Agriculture (CDFA) for a 6-0-0 nitrogen fertilizer product.

Bion estimates that without treatment, more than 75% of the nitrogen in livestock waste escapes to the environment as ammonia, which is an economic loss. Further, once in the atmosphere, ammonia can form PM2.5 air pollution, as well as fuel harmful algae blooms and contaminate groundwater with nitrates.

First Phosphate, Groupe Goyette Ink Logistics MOU

Canada, News Briefs, Phosphate

Junior miner First Phosphate Corp., Saguenay, Quebec, on March 13 announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Groupe Goyette (GG), Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec, for the accommodation of the company’s logistical footprint at the Hebertville-Station Intermodal Facility in the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region of Quebec.

“This agreement is important to our future customers because it would create a rapid truck-to-rail on and off ramp between our mining and industrial facilities in Saguenay and the auto-industry heartland of North America,” said First Phosphate CEO John Passalacqua. “Our clients in the battery technology industry for electric vehicles and energy storage will be demanding and will require reliable, just-in-time transportation assurances.”

GG is to join the First Phosphate project team and begin to determine the best overall project-based logistics necessary to integrate the company’s product and supply flows with the intermodal facility. Fleet electrification and reduction of carbon footprint are key considerations in project development.

EuroChem Inaugurates Serra do Salitre Complex

Brazil, News Briefs, Phosphate, Russia, Ukraine

EuroChem Group AG on March 13 celebrated the opening of its new phosphate fertilizer production facility in Serra do Salitre in Brazil’s southeastern Minas Gerais state. The phosphate mine and plant complex will have an annual production capacity of 1 million mt/y of phosphate fertilizers (GM Feb. 23, p. 1).

EuroChem has invested nearly $1 billion in the project, including the acquisition cost, which it bought from Yara International ASA when the project was 50% complete (GM Aug. 6, 2021). The acquisition deal, which closed in February 2022, was valued at $410 million.

“The launch of our new facility moves us one step closer to our customers and allows us to provide Brazilian farmers with access to the highest quality fertilizers via our well-established distribution network in this important global breadbasket,” said EuroChem Group President Oleg Shiryaev.

According to the company’s Head of South America, Gustavo Horbach, in an interview with Valor International last month, EuroChem’s total volume of fertilizer deliveries in Brazil in 2024 is anticipated to reach 7.5 million mt with the start of operations at the Serra do Salitre production complex.

Brazil’s Agriculture Minister Carlos Fávaro, as cited by Bloomberg, said EuroChem’s new fertilizer plant will represent 15% of the country’s fertilizer market. Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said the Russia-Ukraine war has highlighted the need to return to producing fertilizers in Brazil.

EuroChem has been present in Brazil since 2016 and has blending facilities and a wide distribution network. It owns a 79.98% controlling stake in Fertilizantes Heringer SA (GM June 30, 2023) and 100% of Brazilian fertilizer blender and distributor Fertilizantes Tocantins (GM Aug. 21, 2020).

Moroccan Committee Upholds Khemisset Approval

Morocco, News Briefs, Potash

Emmerson plc reported on March 11 that a government committee in Morocco has upheld a referral of approval for its Khemisset potash project in the north of the country. The committee has invited Emmerson to update the project’s environmental impact assessment and resubmit it to the Commission Régionale Unifée d’Investissement (CRUI), the company said.

Khemisset’s environmental approval was referred to Morocco’s national Ministerial Committee in July 2023 (GM July 28, 2023) after the CRUI was unable to approve the application due to “concerns about the project’s impact on water resources” (GM Jan. 12, p. 28).

Emmerson said early last month that it had completed a scoping study on a new processing method for Khemisset, which aims to reduce the project’s environmental impact while enhancing economic returns (GM Feb. 2, p. 28). According to the company, the new approach eliminates the need for deep-well injection and reduces water consumption by approximately 50%.

Emmerson CEO Graham Clarke said the company is looking forward to re-engaging with the CRUI to facilitate the approval of the EIA for the project. Khemisset is targeting production of 800,000 mt/y of potash. Emmerson’s shares rose 9.8% to 2.75 UK pence following the news but were down to 2.32 UK pence as at 12:10 (GMT) on March 13.