Horisont Energi has signed a joint development agreement with the European ammonia specialist Fertiberia as the new partner in the clean ammonia project Barents Blue, a best-in-class blue ammonia plant underpinning Europe’s transition towards carbon neutrality securing local use of natural resources and significant value creation. The joint development agreement builds on a cooperation agreement entered between the two parties in February 2023.
Through the 50/50 joint development agreement (JDA), Horisont Energi and Fertiberia have agreed on a partnership for Barents Blue, which in the initial phase aims to take the project to a first DEVEX (development expenditure) decision. Once this milestone is reached, the plan is to move forward with the project through the next decision gates in a staggered approach: the detailed engineering phase (DG2) and the Final Investment Decision. The principle for the JDA and the work going forward is based on the joint use of internal resources and shared external costs towards realisation of the project. A project SPV is contemplated and expected to be established shortly after the first DEVEX decision.
The Barents Blue project will become Europe’s largest clean ammonia production plant, located in Finnmark in Northern Norway, once in operation. The project targets deliveries to the European ammonia market and is supported by a grant of NOK 482M under the EU IPCEI hydrogen program, Hy2Use. Once the first construction stage is operational, Barents Blue is planned to produce 1 million tonnes of clean ammonia annually. With a best-in-class carbon capture rate above 99% this will be the most energy-efficient clean ammonia plant in the world and well-aligned with the EU taxonomy, also termed deep blue ammonia.
