Our food chain could start to become carbon neutral from 2022, if plans from the worlds leading offshore wind developer and the world’s leading fertiliser company come to fruition.
The way our methods of industrialised farming currently work, will see demand for fertiliser rise to amount to an estimated 189 million metric tons in 2020/21.
The gist of it is to move away from current methods of producing hydrogen, which rely heavily on fossil fuels. That hydrogen would then be used to produce ammonia for fertilisation purposes. Carbon neutral fertiliser would then help to de-carbonise the food chain, removing the invisible carbon footprint most people would never even consider.
Ørsted, the ofshore wind developer and fertiliser company Yara have been looking for public co-funding for the development and construction of a 100MW electrolyser facility as part of the project. All being well, a final investment decision to build the new plant could be taken late this year (2021) or early 2022.
“Ørsted is committed to investing in renewable hydrogen production at scale, and with the right support in place this joint flagship project between Yara and Ørsted will not only lead to a significant reduction of CO2 emissions, but also help mature the technology for the wider decarbonisation of European industry”, says Martin Neubert, Executive Vice President and CEO of Ørsted Offshore.
“Green ammonia can be essential to enable sustainable food production, in addition it is emerging as the most promising carbon neutral energy carrier for several energy applications, such as decarboni[s]ed shipping fuel. Teaming up with Ørsted in this project in the Netherlands represents a major step forward in enabling Yara to deliver on its strategic ambitions”, said Terje Knutsen, Executive Vice President and head of Farming Solutions in Yara.
The press release goes on to state that “[w]ith its abundant offshore wind resources and large hydrogen consumption centres in coastal areas, the Netherlands are well-positioned to lead the way in the green transformation of heavy industry powered by offshore wind, while securing the competitiveness of key industrial sectors and creating economic activity and jobs. This project can be a milestone on the hydrogen roadmap of the Smart Delta Resources cluster in Zeeland, and an important step in the scaling of renewable hydrogen in the Netherlands towards 3-4 GW by 2030.”
Ørsted are our kind of company, as their vision is creating a world run entirely on green energy. This is something we all need to make a reality if we’re to continue consuming resources at the rate we currently are. Yara have similarly noble goals, working towards making the world a more collaborative society, one without hunger and a planet that is respected by all.
Hopefully this gets off the ground and brings us closer to a carbon neutral food chain.