Norway offers grants for ammonia, hydrogen: press

Norway as a major energy-producing nation needs to be on the same page as Europe when it comes to hydrogen, the prime minister was quoted by the Reuters news service on December 17.

"Hydrogen is now on everyone's lips in Europe as one of the solutions to reach our climate goals,” prime minister Jonas Gahr Stoere said. “So Norway as an energy nation needs to be there."

The Norwegian government said it offered grants of more than $110mn to support three projects related to hydrogen as well as ammonia production. Funding will go to support projects under development by Norwegian firms Yara, Tizir Titanium & Iron (TTI) and Horisont Energi.

Yara is developing a pilot project to produce ammonia and green hydrogen at its Norwegian fertiliser plant, Horisont is developing a form of ammonia – considered blue – that will store CO₂ beneath the Barents Sea, while TTI is looking to use hydrogen instead of coal at a smelter in Norway.

Horisont is working alongside a group of major energy firms, including Norwegian major Equinor, on the Barents Blue project. Barents Blue will covert hydrogen into ammonia, an easily-transported hydrogen carrier. That ammonia, in turn, can be turned back into hydrogen once it reaches its final destination.

Norway is a major oil and gas producer, but powers its economy largely with renewable resources.