Essar Group: advancing the ammonia energy transition in India & the UK

By Julian Atchison on March 06, 2023

Focus on Liverpool

Essar Group is a partner in the region-wide HyNet North West project in the UK, which aims to decarbonise industrial processes around Liverpool and Manchester. Source: HyNet.
Click to enlarge. Essar Group is a partner in the region-wide HyNet North West project in the UK, which aims to decarbonise industrial processes around Liverpool and Manchester. Source: HyNet.

Indian multinational conglomerate Essar has created a new entity – Essar Energy Transition or EET – to steer $3.6 billion in investments and drive decarbonisation in north west England. $2.4 billion will be spent on low-carbon projects at the Stanlow refinery, which sits on the River Mersey near Liverpool, with the remaining $1.2 billion to be spent in India. EET is aiming for the refinery to cut its emissions by 75% by the end of this decade, becoming a key low-carbon hydrogen and fuels hub for the UK. EET will encompass a number of interesting players:

  • Essar Oil UK, which owns and operates the Stanlow complex.
  • Vertex Hydrogen, which is developing 1 GW of CCS hydrogen capacity for the HyNet North West project. Johnson Matthey will act as technology provider for Vertex Hydrogen. Since we first reported on HyNet in March 2021, CF Industries has announced the closure of its Ince fertilisers plant near Liverpool due to increased gas prices (meaning CF will no longer take part).
  • EET Future Energy, which is developing 1 GW of electrolysis-based ammonia in India. Some of this ammonia will be exported to Europe and the UK.
  • Stanlow Terminals (see more below).
  • and EET Biofuels, which intends to develop one million tonnes of low-carbon biofuel production capacity.

The launch of EET is a major milestone in Essar’s long-standing commitment to put the UK at the forefront of low carbon energy. We are excited about the opportunity to drive the UK’s energy transition by producing low carbon future fuels which will help eliminate around 20% of the industrial carbon dioxide in Northwest England. In doing so, it will provide a blueprint for how traditional industries globally can be successfully transformed into hubs for the production of future energies.

Essar Capital Director Prashant Ruia in his organisation’s official press release, 27 Feb 2023

Ammonia imports: from Gujarat to Stanlow

Graphic visualisation of the new ammonia import terminal at Stanlow, near Liverpool. Source: Stanlow Terminals.
Click to enlarge. Graphic visualisation of the new ammonia import terminal at Stanlow, near Liverpool. Source: Stanlow Terminals.

As part of the announcement, EET and Stanlow Terminals will develop an ammonia import terminal at the Stanlow complex. Existing ammonia storage facilities will be expanded, and the new terminal will include a deep-water jetty designed for VLGC vessels, an ammonia cracking facility, connections to a hydrogen vehicle refueling hub. The new terminal will be able to handle imports & storage of more than one million tonnes of ammonia per year from an under-development, 1 GW ammonia production project in Gujarat, India. Operations are scheduled to begin in 2027, with feasibility work underway.

This new terminal is the latest milestone in Stanlow Terminal’s and Essar’s ongoing commitment to leading the UK’s low carbon transformation. By investing in new energies infrastructure and building a secure supply chain of green ammonia into the UK, we are building on our expertise in storing and blending of bulk liquids to put the North West economy at the forefront of the UK’s energy transition to net zero.

Stanlow Terminals CEO Michael Gaynon in his organisation’s official press release, 3 Mar 2023