Yara invests in CCS in Sluiskil and signs binding CO2 transport and storage agreement with Northern Lights

Yara International, a leading global ammonia player, and Northern Lights, a CO2 transport and storage supplier, sign a binding commercial agreement, enabling the first cross-border transportation and storage of CO2. Yara aims to reduce its annual CO2-emissions by 800,000 tons from the ammonia production at Yara Sluiskil. The CO2 will be liquefied and shipped by Northern Lights from the Netherlands to permanent storage on the Norwegian continental shelf, 2.6 kilometres under the seabed.

Cutting 12 million tons of CO2 over the next 15 years

Cutting 800,000 tons CO2 in Yara Sluiskil corresponds to 0.5% of the total annual emissions (2022) in the Netherlands. Over the next 15-years Yara will remove approximately 12 million tons of CO2 from its production in Sluiskil.

Decarbonized future for food-production and shipping

- Clean ammonia can decarbonize hard-to-abate sectors like shipping, chemical production, and power production. It will enable the hydrogen economy, and the time to start using clean ammonia and hydrogen to decarbonize Europe is now, says Magnus Ankarstrand, President of Yara Clean Ammonia.

This project forms part of Yara’s ongoing strategic transition to decarbonize and future-proof its core production assets as Yara Sluiskil is one of the world’s largest ammonia and mineral fertilizer plants. In addition to this project, Yara is evaluating potential large-scale blue ammonia production projects with CCS in the US. Coupling these investments with its leading global ammonia position, Yara can profitably decarbonize its premium product operations in Europe while also diversifying its energy position. To allocate capital to this transition, Yara is considering a number of options including a minority divestment of YCA, asset divestments and other available funding sources.

CCS is key to decarbonize hard-to-abate industries in Europe

The world is closing in on 2030 and action is required to meet the objectives of the Paris Agreement. UN Secretary General Guterres stated in an address to the UN General Assembly on 20th September 2023: “We can – and we must turn up the tempo”. On 27th October 2022 in Oslo, EU Commissioner Simson expressed her conviction “that CCUS has incredible potential in our race to reach climate neutrality”. CCS provides a decarbonization solution to reduce climate emissions. The agreement between Yara and Northern Lights will kickstart the commercial market for CCS in Europe.

CCS is a cost-efficient decarbonization solution that is compatible with existing European production infrastructure, especially in the case of ammonia and fertilizer production. We need to use all technologies at our disposal to address the climate emergency. European industries are eagerly awaiting the EU’s CCUS strategy, to be announced early next year. To realize the full potential of this decarbonization route, CCS projects need to be supported by a dedicated regulatory environment for CO2 transport and storage infrastructure.

Yara grows knowledge to responsibly feed the world and protect the planet. Supporting our vision of a world without hunger and a planet respected, we pursue a strategy of sustainable value growth, promoting climate-friendly crop nutrition and zero-emission energy solutions. Yara’s ambition is focused on growing a nature positive food future that creates value for our customers, shareholders and society at large and delivers a more sustainable food value chain. To achieve our ambition, we have taken the lead in developing digital farming tools for precision farming and work closely with partners throughout the food value chain to improve the efficiency and sustainability of food production. Through our focus on clean ammonia production, we aim to enable the hydrogen economy, driving a green transition of shipping, fertilizer production and other energy intensive industries. Founded in 1905 to solve the emerging famine in Europe, Yara has established a unique position as the industry’s only global crop nutrition company. We operate an integrated business model with around 17,000 employees and operations in over 60 countries, with a proven track record of strong returns. In 2022, Yara reported revenues of USD 24 billion.