PETRONAS plans to invest US$1.6 billion in a green ammonia venture in India. The venture, called AM Green, is targeting production of 5 million tons per year of green ammonia, equivalent to I MTPA of green hydrogen, by 2030. Reaching that level would make it one of the world’s largest green ammonia producers. The partnership will set up production “across multiple locations in India”, and aims to begin exports to key OECD markets, including Germany, Japan and South Korea, in late 2025. AM Green says its electrolysers will run on “round-the-clock renewable energy” supplied via offtake agreements with reputable power producers.

What is green ammonia? 

Ammonia is a pungent gas that is widely used to make agricultural fertilisers. Green ammonia production is where the process of making ammonia is 100% renewable and carbon-free.

One way of making green ammonia is by using hydrogen from water electrolysis and nitrogen separated from the air. These are then fed into the Haber process (also known as Haber-Bosch), all powered by sustainable electricity. In the Haber process, hydrogen and nitrogen are reacted together at high temperatures and pressures to produce ammonia, NH3. 

However, the process of making ammonia is currently not a “green” process. It is most commonly made from methane, water and air, using steam methane reforming (SMR) (to produce the hydrogen) and the Haber process. Approximately 90% of the carbon dioxide produced is from the SMR process. This process consumes a lot of energy and produces around 1.8% of global carbon dioxide emissions.