Project Ra: 1.6 million tonnes per year renewable ammonia near Port Said

By Julian Atchison on May 30, 2023

Land assignments to DAI Infrastruktur from Egypt’s NREA for Project Ra, a 1.6 million tonne per year renewable ammonia plant near Port Said. Source: DAI LinkedIn.
Click to enlarge. Land assignments to DAI Infrastruktur from Egypt’s NREA for Project Ra, a 1.6 million tonne per year renewable ammonia plant near Port Said. Source: DAI LinkedIn.

In December last year, Germany-based DAI Infrastruktur was one of a number of organisations that signed MoUs with the Suez Canal Economic Zone for development of green maritime fuels projects (this list also includes China Energy and Ocior). Dubbed “Project Ra”, 1.6 million tonnes per year of ammonia would be produced near Port Said on Egypt’s Mediterranean coast. In April this year, 780 km² of land was allocated to DAI by Egypt’s Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy to develop three new renewable energy generating assets – two wind parks and a solar PV park, all to be connected to Egypt’s steadily decarbonising national grid.

Presumably, Project Ra will operate on the same basis as numerous other hydrogen & derivatives production projects in the SCZONE: connect their electrolysers to Egypt’s national grid, and then use power purchase agreements &/or develop new build renewable energy generation as the source of renewable electrons.

Offtake secured

This month, DAI and UK-based Freepan Holdings signed an agreement for ammonia offtake from Project Ra – ten years, 800,000 tonnes-per-year. Freepan – currently an LNG asset owner and trader – is looking to support the energy transition by guaranteeing stakeholders access to ammonia fuel:

Project Ra…was selected against a challenging set of ESG criteria, offering FREEPAN and the corresponding stakeholders, who understand the significant impact of green ammonia, the prospect of healthy returns and accelerating transition into a CO2 free environment in the shipping industry.

FREEPAN’s Panagiotis Natsiopoulos in DAI Infrastruktur’s official press release, 15 May 2023

The first delivery to Freepan from Port Said is expected in 2028. DAI reports that this is the second offtake deal signed for Project Ra, bringing the total offtake secured to 1 million tonnes per year from 2028. Further details for this smaller offtake deal (200,000 tonnes per year) are not available at this stage.