Iberdrola, Trammo join forces in Europe’s largest green ammonia project

Ammonia is produced almost exclusively from fossil fuels and is responsible for around 1% of total greenhouse gas emissions, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). Nevertheless, green ammonia has great potential and is expected to be a major contributor to Europe’s decarbonisation journey. Green ammonia can reduce emissions in existing applications in the chemical industry, act as an energy-dense marine fuel, or can facilitate green hydrogen transport as a carrier. 

On June 9, Iberdrola announced it had signed the largest green ammonia agreement in Europe with global commodity merchandiser Trammo. Trammo has committed to the purchase and sale of 100,000 tonnes of green ammonia per year from 2026, with plans to sell a large part of it in northern Europe.

Iberdrola’s business model is based on the production of renewable energy, smart grids and large-scale energy storage. The Spanish company is one of the largest electricity companies in the world in terms of stock market capitalisation.

Iberdrola also unveiled plans to build a EUR750 million (USD806 million) renewable ammonia plant in southern Europe, which will be powered by 500 megawatts (MW) of new renewable electricity generation. The Bilbao, Spain-based Iberdrola is yet to release the exact details of the plant location, which will be confirmed “in the near future.” 

The company already operates Europe’s largest green hydrogen plant following the opening of the 20MW Puertollano facility in Spain in May 2022.  Millán García-Tola, Iberdrola’s global head of Green Hydrogen, says the company’s involvement in the Puertollano plant gives them the experience and understanding of the processes and technology to scale up quickly to these larger projects.  

Trammo is the world’s largest seaborne trader of anhydrous ammonia. “We are already in talks with Trammo to look at similar projects in other markets,” says García-Tola. Iberdrola is also developing more than 60 hydrogen projects in eight countries around the world, including Australia and the United States. The new ammonia plant is expected to create around 3,500 new jobs, which will be mostly local.