Oman a prime location for e-ammonia production: Yamna
MUSCAT: The Sultanate of Oman's potential to become a regional powerhouse in e-ammonia production has been reaffirmed by a top executive at Yamna, a clean energy investment firm collaborating with major international players to develop a gigawatt-scale green hydrogen project in Dhofar Governorate.
Abdelaziz Yatribi, CEO of UK-based Yamna, stated in a recent interview that Oman's natural, infrastructural, geostrategic, and regulatory advantages make it an ideal destination for e-ammonia investment.
'Oman offers exceptional solar and wind resources, resulting in one of the lowest levelised costs of electricity (LCOE) – a critical factor in green hydrogen and ammonia production. Additionally, the Omani government's proactive approach, particularly through Hydrogen Oman (Hydrom), provides a supportive framework for green hydrogen and its derivative projects,' Yatribi said in an interview featured in an in-house report of Eiffel Investment Group, a leading European third-party asset manager.
Last year, Yamna, along with consortium partners EDF Group and J-POWER, was awarded a 341 km² land block in Dhofar Governorate to develop, build, own, and operate a large-scale green ammonia project with an annual production capacity of 1 million tonnes. The project will integrate approximately 4.5 GW of renewable energy capacity and a 2.5 GW electrolyser, supplying hydrogen to an ammonia plant to be established in the Salalah Free Zone.
Yamna's strategy, according to Yatribi, centres on producing the world's most cost-competitive green molecules – hydrogen and ammonia – in locations where renewable resources are both abundant and economical.
'Ammonia serves as an efficient carrier for hydrogen, facilitating its transport to global markets. It is a well-established commodity with over a century of production and transportation history, which significantly reduces technology and infrastructure risks. By leveraging existing ammonia infrastructure, we can accelerate the global deployment of green hydrogen solutions, particularly in markets with decarbonisation imperatives and limited domestic access to competitively priced green molecules,' he explained.
Traditionally used in fertilizer production and industrial processes, the demand for e-ammonia is expected to grow substantially over the next 5 to 10 years, Yatribi noted. This growth will also be driven by its emerging role as a hydrogen carrier and low-carbon maritime fuel. In countries like Japan and South Korea, government-backed initiatives support the use of e-ammonia in power generation and industrial applications. Likewise, increasing interest in ammonia as a marine fuel is prompting the development of stringent safety protocols, supported by successful bunkering trials and forthcoming guidelines from the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), he added.
Yatribi also emphasised Yamna's commitment to delivering a global portfolio of export-oriented e-ammonia projects, currently planned in Brazil, India, Morocco, and Oman.
'We envision e-ammonia playing a central role in the global energy transition. Beyond replacing fossil-based ammonia in traditional uses, e-ammonia will serve as a key enabler for decarbonising hard-to-abate sectors, including power generation and maritime shipping,' he said, adding: 'With continued technological innovation and supportive policies, we believe e-ammonia will become a cornerstone of a sustainable, low-carbon future.'
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