A new UK ammonia producer is close to securing hydrogen offtake from one of the country’s government-backed projects, with plans to develop a 14,000 tonne per year ammonia facility alongside the hydrogen plant.
UK Green Ammonia, established by Alex Robinson, founder of UK chemical and specialist gas supplier Blended Products, aims to rebuild domestic ammonia production by locating facilities alongside emerging hydrogen projects.
The proposed development follows the closure of CF Industries’ ammonia plants at Ince in 2022 and Billingham in 2023, leaving the UK fully reliant on imports, mostly from Algeria, the US, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, and Libya, to meet domestic demand.
Its first proposed plant would be co-located with an unnamed project selected under the UK’s first Hydrogen Allocation Round (HAR1), which awarded long-term government support to help bridge the gap between hydrogen production costs and market prices.
“We’re in the latter stages of signing offtake for that one,” Robinson told H2 View, adding that the proposed plant could expand to 21,000 tonnes annually and incorporate aqueous ammonia production.
The venture is targeting hydrogen developers struggling to secure sufficient customer demand to reach final investment decision, offering an alternative route to market through ammonia manufacturing.
Beyond its first proposed facility, UK Green Ammonia has also identified around six projects from the UK’s HAR 2 shortlist with which it sees potential for collaboration.
“The reason why so many HAR 1 and HAR 2 developers have wanted to speak to us is that we can take a product that they can’t allocate,” Robinson said. “It’s a marriage that works quite well.”
The company is planning a distributed network of modular ammonia facilities producing between 12,600 and 60,000 tonnes annually, with individual investments ranging from £14m ($18.7m) to £50m ($66.7m).
It aims to compete with imported ammonia by reducing exposure to international shipping and logistics costs, which Robinson estimates account for 30% to 40% of landed prices.
It will aim to supply established ammonia demand from munitions and energetics manufacturing, the chemicals sector, energy-from-waste, industrial refrigeration, and food production, while seeking to improve the security of domestic supplies.
