World Fertilizer Magazine

Ammobia, a developer of breakthrough low-cost, modular ammonia production technology, has announced an agreement with Lummus Technology, a global provider of process technologies and value-driven energy solutions, to license and deploy Ammobia’s ammonia production system.

CHS and OCP North America, a subsidiary of the OCP Group, have taken a major step to strengthen domestic fertilizer production in the US. Through a proposed joint venture, the two companies are preparing to build and operate a phosphate fertilizer production facility at the Cornerstone Energy Park located in Waggaman, Louisiana, US. The new plant is expected to produce over 1 million tpy of phosphate-based fertilizer and would be the first of its kind constructed in the US since 1984.

Blue Point One, a joint venture between CF Industries Holdings, Inc., the world’s largest producer of ammonia; JERA Co., Inc., Japan’s largest energy company; and Mitsui & Co., Ltd, a global investment and trading company, has broken ground in Modeste, Louisiana, US, on a low-carbon ammonia plant that can serve both traditional agricultural customers and emerging energy applications.

MAIRE has announced new awards in its Sustainable Technology Solutions (STS) business unit for a total amount of approximately €50 million, with projects located across Asia, Europe, and North America.

The UN has offered to facilitate the transport of fertilizer, which has been hampered by the disruption of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz due to the Iran war. "The purpose is simple: to reduce immediate risks, support more orderly and predictable transit, and help rebuild the confidence necessary for diplomacy and de-escalation," Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said to a press briefing.

OCP North America, a subsidiary of OCP Group, has announced that a vessel carrying approximately 54 000 t of triple super phosphate (TSP) fertilizer from Morocco has arrived at the Port of New Orleans, US. From there, the product will be distributed to American farmers, supporting fertilizer availability ahead of the fall application season.

Saudi phosphate producer Maaden has announced that it will load a 60 000 t DAP cargo at Duqm, Oman, in late August or early September – for shipment to India, as reported by Argus Media. Maaden will also load the 55 000 t of DAP it sold to buyers in east Africa earlier this month from Duqm in September, likely netting back to between the mid-US$890s/t and mid-US$900s/t fob. It will need to transport the DAP by truck from its facilities at Ras Al-Khair on the Mideast Gulf.

Major Saudi Arabian fertilizer producers SABIC AN and Maaden have signed an agreement to explore potential collaboration opportunities. The non-binding agreement aims to establish a framework for exploring opportunities within the fertilizer value chain, including the production and manufacturing of value-added products, according to an exchange filing. The agreement is valid for three years from its signing, according to SABIC AN.

The Brazilian Government has passed Profert (Bill's PL 699/2023), a bill approved by the Brazilian Senate to modernise Brazil's agribusiness infrastructure and reduce its dependence on international supply chains, on construction funding for the Autazes Project, managed by Brazil Potash. The bill headed to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva for signature into law.

VK Arora, Kinetics Process Improvements, Inc. (KPI), USA, provides insight into the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and how the economics of hydrogen and electricity will determine the long-term competitiveness of European fertilizer production. The European fertilizer industry is entering a period of structural transition as rising energy costs, carbon pricing, and growing import dependence reshape the economics of ammonia production.