Decarbonisation options for the Dutch fertiliser industry

Fertiliser production in the Netherlands

This report describes the current situation for fertiliser production in the Netherlands and the options and preconditions for its decarbonisation.

In the Netherlands, the four main fertiliser producing companies are Yara Sluiskil B.V., OCI Nitrogen B.V., ICL Fertilisers and Rosier Nederland. This report focuses on the nitrogen-based fertiliser production at Yara Sluiskil and OCI Nitrogen, because these are the largest companies in terms of production volume and energy consumption.

Processes include:

• Production of ammonia from natural gas;
• Production of urea from ammonia and carbon dioxide;
• Production of nitric acid from ammonia.

Products of the fertiliser industry include:

• Ammonia;
• Nitric acid;
• Ammonium Nitrate (AN);
• Calcium ammonium nitrate (CAN);
• Urea;
• Urea Ammonium Nitrate (UAN);
• Compound fertilisers.

Decarbonisation options

The main decarbonisation options are using hydrogen with a lower CO₂ footprint (e.g. green hydrogen from electrolysis) and carbon capture and storage.

Mapping decarbonisation options is an ongoing process. The MIDDEN project will update and elaborate further on options in the future, in close connection with the industry.