Guidehouse – Roadmap for the European Fertilizer Industry, 2023

Guidehouse has released a roadmap outlining the steps necessary for the European fertilizer industry to achieve climate-neutral production of ammonia by 2050. The industry recognizes the importance of nitrogen fertilizers for European farmers and aims to contribute to food security in Europe. Nitrogen fertilizers are based on ammonia, and the industry is committed to reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from ammonia plants. The roadmap presents potential trajectories for the industry to eliminate GHG emissions from ammonia production by 2050 and significantly reduce them by 2030. This is crucial for mitigating climate change and meeting the targets set out in the Paris Agreement. The roadmap focuses on ammonia production from hydrogen and nitrogen, including the energy-intensive production of hydrogen. The roadmap identifies two intermediate milestones. By 2030, the industry aims to reduce GHG emissions for ammonia production by 31% and produce 50% of production based on water-electrolysis. The production of ammonia currently generates the largest share of GHG emissions from nitrogen fertilizer production. The industry has already made progress in reducing emissions by abating 94% of the sector's N2O emissions from nitric acid production between 2005 and 2020. The roadmap provides a comprehensive plan for the industry to achieve its climate-neutral production goal by 2050 and outlines the steps needed to reach the intermediate milestones by 2030. It highlights the importance of transitioning to alternative technologies and reducing emissions to mitigate climate change and ensure a sustainable future for the European fertilizer industry.