ADNOC ships the first low-carbon ammonia from the UAE to Germany

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) announced that its first shipment of low-carbon ammonia left the United Arab Emirates (UAE) bound for Hamburg, Germany.

The demonstration cargo will be delivered to Aurubis, a leading global provider of non-ferrous metals and one of the largest copper recyclers worldwide, with its headquarters in Hamburg. On arrival in Germany, Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG (HHLA), one of Europe’s leading logistics companies, will handle the cargo.

Produced by Fertiglobe, a partnership between ADNOC and OCI, at its Fertil plant in Abu Dhabi’s Ruwais industrial complex, the demonstration cargo is the first of several test cargoes sold to customers in Germany as ADNOC expands its strategic energy partnership across the hydrogen value chain.

The cargo follows several similar low-carbon ammonia sales made to customers in Asia. Aurubis plans to utilise the low-carbon ammonia as a feedstock in its wire rod plant, testing its application as an additional, lower-carbon energy source for industrial utilisation. The hydrogen it contains has the potential to be a low-carbon energy alternative for energy-intensive processes in multi-metal production.

This is another important milestone in the planned scale-up of hydrogen and low-carbon ammonia production capabilities in Abu Dhabi, where ADNOC is developing a new world-scale 1 million tons per annum low-carbon ammonia plant at TA’ZIZ, the chemicals, industrial services and logistics hub in the Ruwais Industrial Complex.

Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and MD of ADNOC, said, “Our collaboration with customers in Germany also underlines ADNOC’s ambitious growth plans for the production of clean hydrogen, and its carrier fuels such as ammonia, which will play a critical role in decarbonising hard-to-abate industrial sectors.”

Roland Harings, CEO of Aurubis, commented, “To guarantee stable processes at our sites, we are expanding our portfolio of reliable energy sources and thus investing in the decarbonisation of our production at the same time.”

Angela Titzrath, CEO of HHLA, added, “HHLA is pleased to facilitate the import of hydrogen and its derivates to Germany and Europe as part of the strategic energy partnership.”

Michael Westhagemann, Hamburg Senator for Economy and Innovation, noted, “We need these real-world findings and commitment to support the ramp-up of a Green Hydrogen Economy.”