Yara, a Norwegian chemical company, announced that it will seek certification under the Smart Energy Council’s (SEC) Zero Carbon Certification Scheme for its renewable hydrogen and green ammonia production and export facility in Western Australia’s Pilbara region.

The certification initiative, which was launched in January, aims to provide a guarantee of origin for hydrogen, ammonia, and other renewable hydrogen-based fuels and materials as Australia strives to become a global hydrogen export hub.

The certification scheme has emerged as a globally significant initiative in the months since its launch, with the Ammonia Energy Association of the United States joining as a founding partner and the German Energy Agency dena joining as an adviser.

The certification scheme, according to SEC CEO John Grimes, is an important step toward establishing green ammonia as a viable energy source for decarbonizing the global energy system.

The company’s Pilbara plant is one of the world’s largest ammonia production facilities, producing 850,000 tonnes of ammonia per year and supplying about 5% of the global market’s traded ammonia.

The plant currently relies entirely on natural gas for its hydrogen supply, but Yara has partnered with Engie, a French renewable energy company, to build an 18 MWp solar PV farm on the Barrup Peninsula that will provide renewable hydrogen to the plant.

The first phase of the project, which is expected to be completed in 2023, will include the construction of a solar farm, a 10 MW electrolyser, and a battery storage system that will allow the plant to operate without being connected to the main electrical grid.

This $70 million phase will generate 625 tons of renewable hydrogen and 3,700 tons of “green” ammonia per year.

This will be used as a demonstration project as part of Yara’s plan to achieve climate neutrality by 2050.