Maire Tecnimont as announced that its subsidiaries MET Development, Stamicarbon and NextChem have started work on a renewable power-to-fertilizer plant in Kenya. 

The plant will be located near the country’s largest geothermal energy basin and will be partly powered by solar energy sources produced on-site – displacing the need for fossil fuels – and eliminating carbon from the production. The facility will reduce carbon emission with approximately 100,000 tons of CO2 per annum, compared to a gas-based fertilizer plant. The project will also reduce the dependency of imported nitrogen fertilizers and substitute around 25%, of which the total accounts for around 800 kt/a. 

Maire Tecnimont Group’ Stamicarbon, will provide both its Stami Green Ammonia Technology to produce ammonia and its Nitric Acid technology as an integrated technology package for the manufacturing of nitrate fertilizer. 

The renewable power-to-fertilizer project targets to produce 550 mtpd (metric tons per day) of Calcium Ammonium Nitrate (CAN) and/or NPK fertilizers (fertilizers based on Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium) and will be the first commercial-scale nitrate fertilizer plant from renewables. MET Development is currently engaging with local and international partners to set up the development consortium. 

The project has started preliminary engineering works and NextChem aims to start the Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) by the end of 2021. The goal is to start commercial operation of the plant in 2025, which will be dedicated to local Kenyan agri-business. 

The project will utilize approximately 70 MW of renewable power, will create the starting point for locally produced Kenyan fertilizer and is expected to directly generate over one hundred jobs in the region, while supporting the broader economy and its farmers. 

Pierroberto Folgiero, CEO, Maire Tecnimont Group said, “With this strategic initiative we aim to unlock the potential of decarbonizing the fertilizer industry using renewable energy as a feedstock. Kenya has a unique potential to provide renewable energy, making it an ideal location for local green power-to-fertilizer production, replacing import of nitrogen fertilizer.” 

Maire Tecnimont Group’ Stamicarbon, has also signed an exclusive agreement with Argentinian-based Raybite S.R.L. for the commercialization of their small-scale ammonia technology package.

The cooperation agreement means that Stamicarbon has become an ammonia licensor for small-scale ammonia plants. By adding this technology to Stamicarbon’s portfolio, commercialization of small-scale urea plants and mono-pressure nitric acid plants in green fertilizer projects become feasible. 

The Stami Green Ammonia Technology can also be applied in existing plants, as part of a hybrid technology solution to make existing fertilizer production more sustainable.