MUSCAT: Oman’s Port of Salalah is among five international ports being explored by global green hydrogen investment company Yamna as potential hubs for green ammonia bunkering.
UK-based Yamna is currently developing a global portfolio of assets dedicated to producing green hydrogen and other derivatives designed to advance the energy transition around the world. In the Sultanate of Oman, Yamna is a key member of a consortium that has secured a land block to develop a major green ammonia project in Dhofar Governorate.
The company is now exploring the potential for developing a global network of green ammonia bunkering hubs to support the decarbonisation of the maritime industry.
“At Yamna, we play a key role as an upstream player, producing green ammonia at the most cost-competitive locations. By collaborating closely with partners across the ammonia bunkering ecosystem, we are driving the transition to a sustainable maritime future,” the company stated in a recent post.
According to Yamna, potential green ammonia bunkering hubs in the making include Port of Salalah, a state-of-the-art gateway that already has existing ammonia export infrastructure. Additionally, Salalah Port – among other Omani ports – is the subject of a feasibility study aimed at developing a bunkering and production hub for low-carbon fuels.
Other international ports in Yamna’s sights are: Port of Rotterdam (Europe’s largest bunkering port with existing ammonia import terminals), Suez Canal (a strategic location for international maritime logistics), Port Algeciras (Spanish port ideal for developing a green maritime corridor between the Mediterranean and Rotterdam), and Jurong Port in Singapore (presently the world’s largest bunkering hub).
Yamna envisions a significant role for itself in the rollout of a global ammonia bunkering network. “We are contributing to global efforts on developing an ammonia bunkering value chain by: Producing cost-competitive green ammonia; At locations that are well-connected to existing and future bunkering hubs; With a capacity to supply a large volume of green ammonia.” Already, Yamna is backing large-scale green hydrogen and ammonia projects in four locations: Oman, Morocco, Norway and East Africa. It has also established a partnership with Electric Power Development Co Ltd. (J-Power), a Japanese power generation company, to jointly develop and invest in green hydrogen and derivatives projects globally.
In Oman, Yamna has joined hands with EDF Group and J-Power to successfully bid for a land block for developing a 1 million tonnes per year capacity green hydrogen project. The consortium plans to install around 4.5 GW of wind and solar capacity, supported by battery storage and 2.5 GW of electrolyzer capacity. Green hydrogen is proposed to be pumped to an ammonia production plant planned downstream in Salalah Free Zone.
According to Yamna, global demand for green ammonia as a low-carbon bunker fuel will be driven by existing and anticipated regulations issued by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) and the European Union (EU). These regulations mandate use of low-emission fuels and reductions in GHG emissions associated with maritime transportation.
However, to drive the uptake of green ammonia as an alternative low-cost fuel, four key enablers need to fall in place: the cost-competitive production of green ammonia; advancement of technology to support ammonia-powered engines and vessels, adaption of infrastructure to safely transport, store and load ammonia into ships; and formulation of safety guidelines on handling of ammonia.
“All four components must come together, though some may advance faster than others, to establish the complete value chain for ammonia bunkering,” Yamna added.
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