QatarEnergy Renewable Solutions and QAFCO launch world’s largest Blue Ammonia facility

Doha: QatarEnergy’s affiliates, QatarEnergy Renewable Solutions and Qatar Fertiliser Company (QAFCO) signed agreements yesterday for the construction of the Ammonia-7 Project, the industry’s first world-scale and largest Blue Ammonia project.

QatarEnergy Renewable Solutions (owned 100 percent by QatarEnergy) and QAFCO (owned 100 percent by QatarEnergy’s subsidiary, Industries Qatar which is listed on the Qatar Stock Exchange), have joined hands to establish the Ammonia-7 Project, which will have a capacity of 1.2 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) of Blue Ammonia, making it the world’s largest such facility. With a targeted start-up date of Q1 2026, the new plant will be located in Mesaieed Industrial City (MIC) and will be operated by QAFCO as part of its integrated facilities. 

The announcement was made during a ceremony held yesterday at QatarEnergy’s headquarters in Doha to sign the project agreements, including the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract. Valued at approximately $1bn, the EPC contract was awarded to a consortium of ThyssenKrupp and Consolidated Contractors Company (CCC).

The ceremony was attended by H E Saad Sherida Al Kaabi, the Minister of State for Energy Affairs, President & CEO of QatarEnergy, Abdulrahman Al Suwaidi, the CEO of QAFCO, Martina Merz, CEO Thyssenkrupp AG, Dr. Cord Landsmann, CEO Thyssenkrupp Uhde, and Oussama El-Jerbi, CCC Area Managing Director (Qatar), as well as senior executives of QatarEnergy, QAFCO, ThyssenKrupp and CCC.

Addressing the event, Minister Al Kaabi said: “Ammonia-7 is a landmark project for Qatar and for the industry as a whole. It builds on our expertise in installing, operating, and maintaining conventional ammonia plants to produce fertilizers. We are also building on our unique position in the renewables and carbon capture and sequestration space, as well as on our ideal logistical capabilities and advantages to supply differentiated, low carbon products and fuels to the world.”

“Our investment in this project speaks to the concrete steps we are taking to lower the carbon intensity of our energy products, and is a key pillar of QatarEnergy’s sustainability and energy transition strategy,” the Minister added.

Minister Al Kaabi concluded his remarks by saying: “I would like to take this opportunity to thank Abdulrahman Al Suwaidi, the CEO of QAFCO, and QAFCO’s executive leadership team and employees for their hard work and dedication. Thanks are also extended to the executive leadership team and all employees of QatarEnergy for their great contributions to the development of Qatar’s energy sector. To conclude, I would like to express our deep gratitude to the Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani for his wise leadership and for his unwavering support and guidance to the energy sector.”

Blue Ammonia is produced when the CO2 generated during conventional Ammonia production is captured and stored. Blue Ammonia, which can be transported using conventional ships, can then be used in power stations to produce low-carbon electricity.

Pursuant to the agreements signed yesterday, QatarEnergy Renewable Solutions will: (i) develop and manage integrated CCS facilities capable of capturing and sequestering about 1.5 million tons of CO2 per annum, to cater for the new Ammonia-7 plant; (ii) supply more than 35 MW of renewable electricity to the Ammonia-7 facility from its PV Solar Power Plant in MIC, which is currently under construction; (iii) develop and lead the process for certifying the product produced by the Ammonia-7 facility as Blue Ammonia, with the involvement of leading industry experts and relevant independent bodies; and (iv) be the sole off-taker and marketer of all Blue Ammonia produced by Ammonia-7.

QatarEnergy Renewable Solutions is a wholly owned affiliate of QatarEnergy charged with investing in and marketing of renewable energy and sustainability products and solutions within the State of Qatar and across the globe. QAFCO is the world’s largest integrated single-site producer of Ammonia and urea, with a current production capacity of approximately 4 mtpa of Ammonia and 6 mtpa of urea. 

The investment in Blue Ammonia and the expanded CCS facilities are part of the steps QatarEnergy is taking to deliver on its sustainability strategy, which emphasizes QatarEnergy’s commitment, as a major energy producer, to the responsible production of clean and affordable energy to facilitate the energy transition. The strategy stipulates multiple initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, including flagship projects such as the further deployment of carbon capture and storage technology to capture over 11 million tonnes per annum of CO2 in Qatar by 2035.