A Shanghai-based company has commissioned a green hydrogen and ammonia production facility in Chifeng, China. Developed by Envision Energy, the plant is claimed to be the world’s largest and most advanced green hydrogen and ammonia production facility.
The facility, powered entirely by the largest off-grid renewable energy system, is a major leap forward in clean energy and industrial decarbonization.
It’s also the first of its kind to be fully AI-enabled, achieving real-time optimization and stability at scale.
Exports to begin in the fourth quarter of the year
Exports from the first phase of its 2.5GW green hydrogen and ammonia plant in Chifeng, China, are likely to begin in the fourth quarter of the year.
“This is more than a technological milestone,” said Lei Zhang, Envision’s founder and CEO. “Scalable, green alternatives are now real and operational. We can’t get to net zero without green hydrogen, and we can’t afford to wait. This is the blueprint for a clean energy future.”
It’s estimated that the industrial park project, by 2028, can produce 1.5 million tons of green ammonia per year. It can serve as a replicable model for clean industrial hubs worldwide.
World-first in delivering green ammonia at industrial scale
Located in the Chifeng Net Zero Industrial Park — the world’s largest zero-carbon industrial park — this project is a world-first in delivering green ammonia at industrial scale.
For the first time at commercial scale, innovative energy storage and load flexibility is applied. Surplus green power is converted to liquid nitrogen—stored within a dynamic air-separation unit—and electrolyzers intelligently respond to renewable power swings, dynamically optimizing energy absorption and ammonia production, according to a press release.
The plant is designed on a modular, replicable model and the company claims that it can be deployed quickly across the world. It’s not only an engineering triumph but a strategic demonstration of how smart systems, AI, and renewables can come together to reshape global energy infrastructure, according to Envision.
Historic green ammonia offtake agreement
Fully powered by green electricity from directly coupled wind and solar energy, the plant efficiently integrates wind, solar and storage with hydrogen-ammonia production to optimize costs and enhance sustainability.
The initial production phase, targets 300,000 tons of green ammonia annually and plans to scale up to a total annual capacity of 1.5 million tons upon completion. Envision’s outstanding contribution to decarbonization earned it the Energy Transition Changemaker Award at COP28 and recognition as an “Energy Innovator” on Fortune’s Change the World list in 2024, as per the company.
Envision Energy recently announced a historic green ammonia offtake agreement with Marubeni Corporation, one of Japan’s five major trading companies. This pioneering agreement on a global scale validates the commercial viability of green ammonia as a scalable energy solution, sets a global benchmark for its trade, and highlights the vast potential of green hydrogen-ammonia energy across the Asia-Pacific and beyond.
