The 2,700-ton consignment was sent to Ravensdown, a New Zealand-farmer owned agricultural co-operative company. SABIC AN produced the urea using ammonia with low-carbon footprint, having recently achieved the world's first independent certification for low-carbon ammonia production.
Saudi Arabia is already a pioneer in the production and export of clean hydrogen and derivatives such as ammonia and has partnered with New Zealand on this innovative venture as part of its ambitious strategy to be the world’s leading clean hydrogen hub. The Kingdom is seeking to forge partnerships with entities from all over the world to help them meet their clean energy targets.
In Vietnam, by 2050, coal-fired power plants will be converted to run on either biomass or ammonia. Vietnam will prioritise developing renewable energy and new energy (such as hydrogen, green ammonia) for export purposes with unlimited capacity. By 2030, the intended capacity for export is from 5,000 to 10,000 MW. The Vietnamese government is also open to collaborating with other parties on utilizing blue ammonia.
Abdulrahman Shamsaddin, CEO, SABIC AN, said, “Sustainability is integrated into our strategy, enabling us to deliver responsible business and generate sustainable growth. We are constantly developing solutions empowering our customers to achieve their own sustainability ambitions. Our collaboration with Ravensdown is a major step in this direction and a strong indicator of SABIC’s overall commitment to delivering low-carbon solutions to customers and helping them achieve their net-zero targets".
The shipment is part of SABIC’s ongoing efforts in delivering first shipments of low-carbon products to several markets in the region, including the region’s first shipment of low carbon ammonia to South Korea last December. These ongoing efforts to deliver low-carbon solutions to customers though low-carbon chemicals and fertiliser solutions underscores its public commitment for all its operations to become carbon neutral by 2050. This also marks SABIC’s steps in collaborating with customers to help them achieve their net-zero emission targets.
The shipments of low-carbon products will drive farming and power generation industries in Asia. According to the International Energy Agency, about 70% of ammonia globally is used for fertilisers, while the remainder is used for various industrial applications, such as plastics, power generation and synthetic fibres. Thus, blue ammonia has significant potential to decarbonize hard-to-abate industries.
Earlier this year on 20 April, a first shipment of independently-certified low-carbon ammonia to Fuji Oil Company arrived in Japan, for use as fuel in power generation. The shipment is the result of a successful multiparty collaboration across the low-carbon ammonia value chain. The ammonia was produced by SABIC AN with feedstock from Aramco, and sold by Aramco Trading Company to the Fuji Oil Company.
Abdulrahman Shamsaddin, SABIC AN CEO, said of this: “Our aim is to capitalize on this important milestone to grow and expand our positive contribution toward carbon neutrality. SABIC Agri-Nutrients made a public commitment not only to become carbon neutral by 2050 but also to collaborate with customers to help them achieve their net-zero emission targets. Customers in the energy, fertilizer and chemical sectors are looking for suppliers of lower-carbon hydrogen and ammonia. And we can meet their demand by leveraging our long-standing strengths across the value chain.”
In South Korea, Lotte Fine Chemicals (LFC) also received the world’s first commercial shipment of 25,000 metric tonnes (KMT) of independently certified blue ammonia from SABIC AN and Saudi Aramco (Aramco). The shipment, dispatched from King Fahad Industrial Port at Jubail, Saudi Arabia, arrived on 20 December 2022 to Ulsan, South Korea.
