On March 12th, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and Nitrogénművek, the Hungarian fertilizer producer, announced a tender for a feasibility study. It is an important step in realizing the “green” and energy efficient ammonia production in Hungary.

The EBRD and Nitrogénművek understand the transformational phase the fertiliser industry is currently facing. With the global production and application of fertilisers growing, the fertiliser industry must address the challenge of mitigating its GHG emissions while keeping pace with evolving global demand. Nitogénművek and EBRD have therefore started cooperation on a plan to improve the Plant’s energy efficiency and integrate the existing ammonia production facility with an electrolyser powered by renewable energy. The green ammonia will then be used to produce Calcium Ammonium Nitrate (CAN) fertiliser. The project can significantly reduce the CO2 emission caused by ammonia production and help Hungary and Europe meet their CO2 reduction targets.

Nitrogénművek is one of the region’s major independent fertilizer producers and marketing enterprises. It is an important EU industry in terms of turnover, employment and, most importantly, its value to the agri-food sector. “With continuous investments our core strategy is to produce and supply sufficient nutrients for plants to be grown in the right quantity and of the right quality to feed people in a more energy-friendly, environmentally-sustainable and efficient way” says Zoltan Bige, Chief Strategy Officer of Nitrogénművek. The companies’ main product is CAN with one of the highest capacities in Europe. CAN is the greenest synthetic nitrogen fertilizer in the world with minimal nitrous oxide emission, and with a CO2 footprint that is lower than any other nitrogen sources for agriculture.

The project fits well to EBRD’s Green Economy Transition (GET) approach. GET is the Bank’s strategy for helping countries where the EBRD works to build low carbon and resilient economies. The GET approach builds on more than two decades of EBRD experience in financing green investments. “With an increasing focus on “green” projects and decarbonisation, we are very pleased to be working with Nitrogénművek on a project that promises new technologies which can help both Hungary and Europe in their transition towards meeting targets set under the Paris Agreement” says Graeme Hutchison, Regional Head of Hungary and Slovakia at the EBRD.