Zimbabwe’s Proposes Green Hydrogen For Increased Fertilizer Production

By Wallace Mawire

Zimbabwe is proposing to implement a Green Hydrogen for Fertilizer project  to increase fertilizer production through the use of renewable energy.

The project proposal developed by the Climate Change Management Department (CCMD) is anticipated to be supported by the Green Climate Fund (GCF).

According to a meeting held with a local banking institution in the country the project is anticipated to be implemented through  the use of a 30MW Solar PV plant.

A close source revealed that the initiative will be  be achieved through the recommissioning of the Sable Chemical Industries Electrolysis Plant, the sole manufacturer of ammonium nitrate in  the country.

It is reported by the proposers that the production of green hydrogen  will also support the decarbonization of the agriculture sector in Zimbabwe.

''This Project emanates from the Green Resilient Recovery Rapid Readiness (GRRRR) and Green Hydrogen for Fertilizer Production was identified as a key area of intervention after the Investment Plan and the GRRRR support for Zimbabwe were approved. This strategic area is crucial to respond to the devastating socio-economic effects of COVID-19 in a greener way," read project notes availed to the Reporter.

The CCMD reports that precipitation and drought have a direct relevance to the Project because the Sable Chemical Industries Electrolysis Plant was decommissioned in 2016 predominately as a result of the very low water levels of the Kariba dam, its source of power, as well as high energy costs existing at that period.

They add that given the energy generation mix being significantly dependent on hydropower, climate change induced decreases in mean levels of precipitation are impacting hydro-based power thus there is the need for alternative sources of renewable energy such as solar energy to support the decline in hydropower and simultaneously displace the use of fossil fuels.

Zimbabwe’s total energy generation in 2021 comprised of 29% non-renewable and 71% renewables, hydropower at 69% of total energy generation comprised the largest share.

It is however reported that  increased drought frequency, rainfall unpredictability and reduced water levels exacerbated by climate change have severely impacted hydropower levels causing intensive load shedding.

CCMD says that moving into green fertiliser production shields Zimbabwe from volatile prices and uncertain supplies of ‘grey’ fertiliser, produced from fossil fuels and predominately imported from abroad.

They add that this  will help support and decarbonise the country’s expanding agricultural sector and contribute to food security, which has been hit hard by droughts.

CCMD added that the Government is working to capacitate the local fertiliser manufacturing industry in a bid to achieve self-sufficiency amid global supply chains disruptions because of the Russia and Ukraine war.

Green hydrogen and ammonia production at industrial scale is  increasingly important in the energy and chemical industries as the use of these clean energy sources has the potential to revolutionize the way energy and fertilizers are produced, while simultaneously reducing the carbon footprint of these industries,according to the CCMD.

The department adds that domestically produced green hydrogen and ammonia can help reduce Zimbabwe’s dependence on imports fertilizer which has been increasing.

This is anticipated to  enhance food security and limit emissions from fertilizer manufacturing which is a hard-to-abate sector along others such as petrochemicals, aluminium, and cement,the CCMD says.

They says that for deep decarbonization of the agriculture sector, there needs to be a switch to green ammonia and studies have shown that using green ammonia  for fertilizer could drive down farming’s carbon footprint by as much as 90% for corn and small grain crops.

CCMD adds that this is particularly relevant  in the country  as maize production, is a staple food grain which dominates the national diet and cultivated on one-half of Zimbabwe’s agricultural land and accounts for 80 to 90% of domestic staple crop production.

''Fertilizer production with green hydrogen leads to reduced carbon emissions and environmental impact compared to conventional processes using fossil fuels,'' CCMD says.

According to the department, Zimbabwe requires 380,000 metric tonnes (MT) of top-dressing fertilizer annually, but has capacity to produce 240,000 MT.

They add that the price of ammonia rose from US$700/MT to US$1,500MT at the beginning of 2022 and this negatively impacted farmers.

The country is also reported to have  a growing need for fertilizers to increase land and labour productivity and to intensify production, especially in the smallholder farming subsector.

Increases in crop production in the past two decades are also reported to have been more as a result of an expansion in area rather than an increase in land and labour productivity.

Crop yields in the smallholder subsector  are reported to have have remained low compared with similar crops in the large-scale farming subsector.

They say that fertilizer use is falling owing to unavailability, increased prices and financial constraints.

Located in Kwekwe, Sable Chemical Industries Limited is Zimbabwe's sole manufacturer of nitrogen-based fertilizer, ammonium nitrate.

The company was incorporated in 1965 and started operations in 1969 using ammonia, a key raw material in the fertilizer making process, which at that time was imported through Sasol, South Africa.

In 1972, Sable commissioned its own ammonia production facility via electrolysis of water.This saw the import quota reduce to 30% of total raw materials required to make ammonium nitrate.

The nameplate capacity of the plant is 240,000 tonnes per annum of ammonium nitrate.

Sable Chemicals commissioned its green ammonia hydrogen plant based on Alkaline Water Electrolysis and sourcing its renewable energy from hydropower from the Kariba dam in 1972.

Sable ammonia section was decommissioned in 2015 on account of shortage of electricity increasing power tariffs.  The low water levels near the dam which declined to near-record lows, just 12% full and within about  two  meters of the lowest level required for energy generation.

Before this was decommissioned, it operated for 43 years and  had a capacity of up to 240,000 tonnes of ammonium nitrate annually.

In addition to provision of a new electrolysis plant, a 30MW solar plant on adjacent secured land will be developed,15 MW fed directly into the plant and 15MW fed into the grid.

According to the CCMD,the 30MW solar PV plant will be able to support around 11,200 MT of fertilizer production. The solar plant will be a captive plant supporting the project.

CCMD says that, the Green Hydrogen for fertilizer was identified, prioritized, and included in Zimbabwe’s Green Resilient Recovery Strategy and Investment Plan developed with support from the GCF Readiness Programme  which was approved in February 2022.

CCMD says that in support of the project, several multi-stakeholder consultations were undertaken, which  included an in-person national stakeholder engagement and consultation workshop in Kadoma on 22 to 23rd May 2023 with participation from the National Designated Agency  (NDA), line ministries, academics, CSO, local and international development partners.

They add that this was further supplemented by a site visit to the green hydrogen for fertilizer production at Sable Chemicals on 26th June 2023.

Constructive comments and feedback were reported to have been received from  the local community on the proposed project were stakeholders including members from the local communities were consulted.

Furthermore, virtual meetings with the NDA on 3rd August 2023 to further discuss proposed interventions were conducted.