The majority of hydrogen projects will convert the fuel to ammonia for transport in the coming years, according to new research from Rystad Energy.
Its projections indicate that 174 export terminals will primarily focus on converting hydrogen into ammonia by 2035, accounting for 62% of total exported volumes, or about 13.5m tonnes per annum.
In support of the broader energy transition, a substantial upsurge in clean ammonia transportation and trade is anticipated, with traded volumes of ammonia projected to reach 76m tonnes by 2035, four times the volume transported and traded in 2020.
This surge, primarily originating from Africa and North America, will lead to a five-fold increase in ammonia exports by 2050 to 121m tonnes.
Rystad’s estimates show global clean ammonia exports are set to surge to 121m tpa by 2050, with Africa contributing 40.7m tpa and Australia with 35.9m tpa based on announced projects.
“Hydrogen penetration is moving quickly and globally, entering new geographies and outpacing market expectations,” said Minh Khoi Le, Head of Hydrogen Research at Rystad Energy.
“With the ammonia trade booming, there is an urgent need to leverage existing assets to their fullest potential. Converting LNG terminals could be a good solution, not only optimizing current infrastructure but also spurring a re-evaluation of strategies that can cope with the scale of the expected market expansion.”