AEA
December 24, 2023
By AEA

AI shows up in renewable Ammonia Production.

Orica: explosives & chemicals for mining

Click to learn more. Orica’s manufacturing plant in Yarwun (Gladstone), which produces explosives & extraction chemicals for mining customers. Source: Orica.

The Hydrogen Utility (H2U) and Orica will explore possibilities for an exclusive off-take & supply agreement from H2U’s future renewable ammonia production plant in Gladstone, Australia. The ammonia would be transported to Orica’s nearby Yarwun manufacturing plant, which will use the ammonia to produce explosives (ammonium nitrate) and mining extraction chemicals (sodium cyanide) for Australian & international mining customers. Orica and H2U will also explore the potential for an ammonia export terminal in Gladstone, based on Orica’s existing ammonia storage tanks at the Fisherman’s Landing Wharf.

We’ve been operating in Yarwun for over 30 years, and are committed to ensuring our Yarwun facility and the Gladstone region remain competitive in a lower carbon economy, while creating more sustainable products for customers and opportunities across new industries.

Orica President – Australia Pacific Germán Morales in the official press release, 12 Apr 2022

Securing participation from one of the leading players in the domestic ammonia industry is a huge vote of confidence in this game-changing project. We look forward to working with Orica, the Port of Gladstone, and the Queensland Government to establish Gladstone as a globally leading hub in the emerging green hydrogen and green ammonia export market, and to secure new long-term jobs and economic growth for Central Queensland.

H2U Founder and CEO Attilio Pigneri in the official press release, 12 Apr 2022

Environmental approvals & creating a “digital twin”

In late March, H2U advised they had progressed to the next stage of environmental approvals for the Gladstone project, which will undergo assessment by federal authorities. In other developments this year, H2U and Hexagon (a Swedish digital solutions provider) announced a new partnership to create “digital twins” of H2U’s future ammonia plants.

The digital twin concept was explored at last year’s Australia conference. It enables better asset management of real-world plants at every life cycle stage by creating an exact, digital copy of the plant. This allows asset owners to change inputs and operating scenarios (and assess the downstream effects) instantaneously and for zero-cost: something not possible at a physical plant.