Topsoe Gets Largest Electrolyser Order In 5-GW Green Ammonia Deal

Danish technology pioneer Topsoe and New York-based green ammonia early-mover First Ammonia have announced that they have entered into a capacity reservation agreement to kick-start the global market for green ammonia.

According to the official statement, the solid oxide electrolyzer cells (SOEC) of Topsoe will be installed in the green ammonia plants of First Ammonia around the world in coming years. The Topsoe SOEC electrolyzer is a compact stack built primarily from abundant, low-cost ceramic materials enclosed within a metal housing. To produce hydrogen, it utilizes electricity to split water molecules (H₂O) into hydrogen (H₂) and oxygen (O₂). This is accomplished by three components: an anode, a cathode, and an electrolyte. The cathode splits water molecules, via reduction, into hydrogen and oxide ions, after which the oxide ions are transported through the electrolyte to the anode and oxidized into oxygen.

The agreement provides for an initial purchase of 5 00 MW of SOEC units and is expandable to up to 5 GW over the lifetime of the agreement. The SOEC manufacturing plant of Topsoe will be built in Herning, Denmark. It has already received FID from the board.

Topsoe said that at 5 GW, this would be the largest ever electrolyzer reservation of any type. The production of 5 million metric tons of green ammonia produced per year would eliminate 13 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions annually. This will also be equivalent to taking 9 million petrol-fuelled cars off the road.

First Ammonia has been developing sites around the globe with the first installation of 500 MW of capacity to be installed in Northern Germany and Southwestern United States.

Joel Moser, CEO, First Ammonia, said, “With their cutting edge SOEC electrolyzers and industry leading ammonia synthesis, we will develop facilities around the world to produce millions of tons of green ammonia from water and air.” He said that ammonia can save humanity as the workhorse of the hydrogen economy, replacing petrochemicals to decarbonize agriculture, transportation and power storage and generation.

Roeland Baan, CEO, Topsoe, informed, “We need to accelerate the development and industrialization of sustainable solutions, while also increasing energy independence, which is why we are delighted to partner with First Ammonia on the global development of its green ammonia facilities.”

Topsoe held that green ammonia has the highest volumetric energy density out of all the hydrogen-based energy sources – much more than pure hydrogen – which makes it cheap and easy to store and transport.

By operating dynamically—producing ammonia during off-peak power demand hours—First Ammonia claims that it will be a net contributor to the economics of renewable power production.