ITM Power (AIM: ITM), the energy storage and clean fuel company, is pleased to provide details of the sale of a 24MW electrolyser to Linde Engineering contained in the Company’s Half Year Report issued yesterday. The electrolyser is to be installed at a site operated by Yara Norge AS (“Yara”) located at Herøya outside Porsgrunn, about 140 km southwest of Oslo. The site covers an area of approximately 1.5 square kilometres and is the largest industrial site in Norway. The Porsgrunn site produces 3 million tons of fertiliser per year.

The hydrogen required for ammonia production is currently produced from SMR. Yara intends to start replacing this grey hydrogen with green hydrogen produced from renewable energy and electrolysis. The 24MW system supplying 10,368 kg/day of hydrogen will account for approximately 5% of the plant’s consumption and serve as a feasibility study for future upscaling. Yara has received a grant  of up to NOK 283m (£23.6m,pending ESA approval) from Enova SF, a Government funding body, to invest in green solutions for hydrogen used for industrial purposes in Norway.

The electrolyser equipment is due to be ready for shipment from ITM Power in Q4 2022 with revenue realised in the Company’s 2022/2023 financial year.

The Porsgrunn plant is one of Norway’s largest sources of CO₂ emissions outside the oil and gas industry, emitting around 800,000 tonnes per year. The electrolysis plant will be powered by renewable energy and provide enough hydrogen to produce 20,500 tonnes of ammonia per year which can be converted to between 60,000 and 80,000 tonnes of green fertiliser. This will reduce the plant’s CO₂ emissions by approximately 41,000 tonnes. The site is expected to supply its first green ammonia-based products in mid-2023.

Dr Graham Cooley, CEO of ITM Power, said: “Decarbonisation of industry is critical to achieving the commitments of countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Globally, the largest use today of hydrogen produced from hydrocarbons is in the production of ammonia for fertilisers. This use has to be curtailed and eventually eliminated. We are very pleased to be working with forward-thinking producers such as Yara and the Norwegian Government to address this issue.”

John van der Velden, Senior Vice President Global Sales & Technology, Linde Engineering, added: “This project showcases Linde Engineering’s market leadership in electrolysis projects. Given the growing demand from the fertilizer industry for green hydrogen, this plant is a step towards further upscaling and increasing the size of these projects worldwide.”

Magnus Ankarstrand, President of Yara Clean Ammonia, said: “The project aims to supply the first green ammonia products to the market as early as mid-2023, both as fossil free fertilizers, as well as emission free fuel for ships. Green ammonia is the key to reducing emissions from world food production and long-distance shipping. With this project, we move from intention to actions together with Linde Engineering and local contractors.”