Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (Taqa), one of the largest listed integrated utilities in the region, is in talks with Abu Dhabi Ports for the development of an industrial-scale green hydrogen-to-ammonia export project in Abu Dhabi.

A partnership on a green hydrogen-to-ammonia project of this scale would be a significant step towards placing Abu Dhabi at the heart of a new emerging global market for green energy, said Taqa.

Under an MoU signed by Jasim Husain Thabet, Taqa’s Group Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, and Captain Mohamed Juma Al Shamisi, Group CEO, Abu Dhabi Ports, the companies will work together on developing proposals for a green ammonia export facility to be based in Khalifa Industrial Zone Abu Dhabi (Kizad).

The new plant would be fuelled by hydrogen produced by an electrolyser facility paired with a 2GW solar photovoltaic (PV) power plant. The green hydrogen would be turned into liquid ammonia to supply ships converted to use ammonia as a bunker fuel and for export from Abu Dhabi Ports via specialised gas carriers.

The Taqa-Abu Dhabi Ports project will also feature a storage facility at Khalifa Port, opening the opportunity for it to become a hub for exporting green ammonia to international markets including Europe and the East Asia, it stated.

The solar farm, electrolyser and the ammonia production plant will be situated in Kizad. The ammonia plant will have pipeline connectivity to the Khalifa Port storage facility enabling large volumes of ammonia to be directly delivered to the port.