Spirits rose to a high at the HØST project premises today when the four major cooperatives DLG, Danish Agro, Arla og Danish Crown announced their consortium and intention to begin investigations into establishing climate-friendly production of fertilizer in Denmark. As designated supplier of the green ammonia for Green Fertilizer Denmark, The HØST project will play a key role in the ambitious initiative.
Sustainable ammonia production in Denmark
- It is our goal at HØST to launch a sustainable ammonia production with a carbon footprint that amounts to only 10% of conventional ammonia. It is very positive that these key players in the Danish agricultural sector are ready to take a giant leap forward towards reducing the carbon footprint of the agricultural sector. With Green Fertilizer Denmark, we have been given a platform for accelerating the green transition, which is paramount to agriculture, nature and the climate alike, says Project Director for HØST PtX Esbjerg, David Dupont-Mouritzen.
Independent of Russian imports
- It is still important to pay attention to the amount of fertilizer that we release into our fields, but using green power for the production of fertilizer will in itself make a significant impact on the carbon foot print of food production. – A production which needs to stay efficient also in years ahead where even more land will presumably be to retured to its wild stage. In addition, we have several reasons to reduce our reliance on Russian fertilizer production, which has traditionally supplied Europe with more than 50% of its fertilizer. In other words, this initiative will also enhance security of supply on several levels.
Obstacles yet to be removed for Power-to-X
The intentions to establish a national fertilizer production will, however, not do on their own, and David Dupont-Mouritzen hopes that Green Fertilizer Denmark and its activities will act as a catalyst for further work on regulatory frameworks and inventive structures for a dawning Power-to-X (PtX) industry.
- The green transition has gained a lot of political focus, which is also evident in the current election campaign. I hope that the political ambitions will make a real impact and speed up the green transition. There is a great need to remove regulatory obstacles and ambiguities which currently hold back development. As an industry we need to be able to move fast, and today the four leading companies within Danish agriculture have shown the way, says David Dupont-Mouritzen, who is looking forward to the next steps.
Power-to-X opens up a new market for export
- We are actively taking part in the establishment of fertilizer production on Danish ground, and Green Fertilizer Denmark has a very large potential. Apart from making Denmark self-sufficient with climate-friendly fertilizer, we may in fact be looking into a future export market. Although we are not not direct partners in the Green Fertilizer Denmark project, we are keen to support, as our goals and ambitions are so alike. PtX is key to success in this process, and that is why we are happy to support this – and other – sustainable projects.
Photo courtesy of DLG: (Left to right) Henning Haarh, Group CEO Danish Agro, Kristian Hundebøll, CEO DLG, Peder Tuborgh, CEO Arla Foods & Jais Valour, Group CEO Danish Crown