Switch2 and CorPower Ocean partner on floating green ammonia project

Project developer SwitcH2 is partnering with CorPower Ocean to deliver an industrial-scale floating green ammonia production facility in Portugal, partially powered by wave energy.

SwitcH2’s NH3-FPSO (floating production, storage, and offloading) unit involves the use of a newly built vessel, which supports a 300MW electrolysis plant on deck.

The unit produces green ammonia, which is temporarily stored in pressurised tanks in the vessel and then exported to shore via dedicated shuttle carriers.

According to SwitcH2, the floating green ammonia facility is expected to reach an annual production capacity of almost 300 ktonne of green ammonia- per year, with production beginning by 2029.

SwitcH2 director and co-founder Saskia Kunst commented in a statement: “We are extremely pleased with our collaboration with CorPower Ocean as integrating their promising wave energy adds economic benefits to our already competitive offshore production system. Jointly we look at a buoyant market for green ammonia which is set to expand 6-fold between now and 2050. Our project will contribute to decarbonize also hard to abate sectors such as global shipping.”

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CorPower Ocean commercial director Kevin Rebenius added: “Wave energy is one of the largest untapped energy source in the world. It’s renewable, accessible, and abundant. Crucially, it’s also highly consistent bringing greater stability to the clean energy mix, enabling 24/7 renewable electricity supply allowing industrial processes like this to run at high utilization. We look forward to working with fellow tech pioneer SwitcH2 with a shared vision for a cleaner, brighter future powered by renewables.”

SwitcH2 aims to launch a new open-sea project in northern Portugal utilising CorPower Ocean’s wave energy technology.

According to Mordor Intelligence, the green ammonia market size is expected to grow from the current 3.13 million tonne to 42.18 million tonnes by 2029, growing at a CAGR of 68.23% during the forecast period. Market growth is being driven by agricultural production, the emerging application of green ammonia as a marine fuel, as well as increasing applications in power generation.

SwitcH2 is looking to tap the expanding ammonia market by extending its portfolio beyond Portugal, and will therefore be exploring opportunities in West Africa, as well as Northwestern Europe.

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Added Kunst: “A floating production system is by definition a mobile asset which we will build where this is cheapest and which can be deployed around the globe, wherever we have access to attractively priced wind, wave, and/or solar energy.”

Ultimately, SwitcH2 aims to develop a project at a central location in the North Sea to produce green hydrogen. The H2 FPSO will be connected to a bottom fixed wind park, utilising the offshore wind energy as the primary source of power.

Once the hydrogen is produced, the FPSO will be connected to the existing gas infrastructure, allowing the hydrogen to be brought onshore efficiently and at low cost and delivered to offtakers in UK, Germany and the Benelux.