To produce blue ammonia, a fuel that can be transformed into hydrogen by nations aiming to lower their carbon emissions, Qatar aims to construct a $1 billion facility.
As ammonia can be transported and transformed into hydrogen, which is regarded as a clean fuel because it doesn’t create carbon dioxide, the global market for ammonia is anticipated to expand despite being in its infancy. Ammonia may be used as fertilizer or burnt to create power.
At a ceremony in Doha on Wednesday, the energy minister and CEO of QatarEnergy said that the company had inked agreements with Industries Qatar QSC and its subsidiary, Qatar Fertilizer Co., to build a facility that would be able to manufacture up to 1.2 million tonnes of blue ammonia annually.
The contract for the “Ammonia-7” facility has been given to ThyssenKrupp AG in Germany and Consolidated Contractors Co. in Greece, according to a statement from QatarEnergy.
Nitrogen and hydrogen are combined to create ammonia. The resultant ammonia is referred to as “blue” when hydrogen is extracted from natural gas and the carbon dioxide byproduct is collected.
When the blue ammonia plant begins operations in the first quarter of 2026, almost 1.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide will be absorbed and sequestered annually from the ammonia-making process, according to the statement. By 2035, Qatar hopes to have improved its carbon capture and storage systems to the point where it can store up to 11 million tonnes of carbon dioxide annually.
