Yara launches a renewable hydrogen factory

Yara International announced that it is officially opening its renewable hydrogen plant in Herøya, Norway.

Yara currently produces renewable hydrogen and ammonia and has already delivered the first tonnes of fertilizers made from renewable ammonia produced at the plant.

Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre inaugurated a 24 MW renewable hydrogen power plant at Herøya Industrial Park, the largest plant of this type currently operating in Europe.

Hydrogen is produced through the electrolysis of water and renewable energy, replacing natural gas as a raw material and reducing the plant’s CO2 emissions by 41,000 tons every year.

Hydrogen is used to produce ammonia, which in turn is used to produce fertilizers, and can also be used as a fuel for transport. Ammonia is also an efficient carrier of energy and hydrogen.

The low carbon footprint fertilizers produced and delivered will be part of a new portfolio called Yara Climate Choice. These solutions will benefit crops while contributing to decarbonizing the food value chain and reducing climate impacts.

READ: Yara, AM Green Ink Delivery with Renewable Ammonia

In addition to fertilizers produced through water electrolysis and renewable energy, low-emission ammonia-based fertilizers produced using carbon dioxide capture (CCS) technology will constitute a large part of Yara’s future portfolio.

Hans Olav Raen, CEO of Yara Clean Ammonia, said: “Renewable ammonia is an important piece of the decarbonization puzzle, but it takes time to develop on a large scale. As the world rapidly approaches 2030, we are also working to produce low-carbon ammonia using CCS to enable a hydrogen economy and develop emerging markets for low-carbon ammonia.”

In March 2024, Canada’s Port of Argentia and the Port of Hamburg Authority (HPA) signed a letter of intent (LOI) to cooperate on the export and import of green hydrogen from Canada to Germany.

Recently, PACECO Corp. began commercial operations at the Port of Los Angeles with the world’s first rubber-tire gantry (RTG) crane powered by hydrogen fuel cells.