Horisont eyes blue ammonia in Norway
Norwegian clean energy company Horisont Energi said September 30 it was vetting financing opportunities for a blue ammonia project in the country.
Horisont said it started discussions with potential investors last year. Mindful of relevant confidentiality agreements, the company said that details related to infrastructure investments for the so-called Barents Blue plant in Hammerfest could be revealed during the first half of next year.
“Horisont Energi plans on signing a letter of intent with one or more of the selected investors before the project’s concept selection, scheduled in 2022,” CEO Bjorgulf Eidesen said. If developed as planned, the Barents Blue facility would be the largest of its kind in the region.
Heat breaks down methane into CO2 and hydrogen, as is the case with blue hydrogen, but for blue ammonia, the hydrogen is then bonded with nitrogen, leaving the CO2 as a by-product for storage.
The facility would have a nameplate capacity of 3,000 metric tons/day of ammonia. The CO2 captured during the production process would be transported to a reservoir below the seabed off the coast of northern Norway.
Elsewhere, Norwegian energy major Equinor said earlier this week said it would work with Russia’s Rosneft on developing low-carbon solutions and reducing the carbon footprint from their joint projects. They will also consider opportunities in renewables, carbon capture utilisation and storage and low-carbon hydrogen.
