Egypt’s fertiliser production and demand are expected to grow, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) said in a report.
Coordinated effort is required, accompanied by a supportive national policy framework and a level playing field with global initiatives to implement new technologies in the Egyptian fertilizer industry.
Fertilizer production is an energy-intensive process which contributes significantly to greenhouse gas (GHG)emissions. CO2 is emitted from natural gas used as both a fuel (for energy) and feedstock (for H2 production).
Egypt, a major producer, user, and exporter of fertilisers, has a big opportunity to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from its nitrogen fertiliser supply chain, which accounts for about 8% of the country’s national emissions.
Next steps will outline the most economically efficient pathway to align with the Paris Agreement and Egypt’s Nationally Determined Contribution. Key measures include energy efficiency, N2O abatement, electrification of boilers, carbon capture and storage, and green hydrogen, according to the report.
“There are 10 nitrogen fertilizer (N-fertilizer) producers in Egypt. The industry is dominated by urea production, followed by ammonium nitrate (from nitric acid), and smaller quantities of ammonium sulphate, calcium nitrate, urea ammonium nitrate and calcium ammonium nitrate,” said the EBRD report, a copy of which was made available to The Egyptian Gazette.
Major GHG emissions from these assets include vented/unused process CO2 from ammonia production, GHG (mainly CO2) emissions from natural gas combustion used for energy, and N2O emissions from nitric acid plants for ammonium nitrate production.
“While there is some policy and regulatory progress in Egypt relevant to the decarbonisation of the nitrogen fertilizer supply chain, a clearer set of actions is needed aimed at implementing a comprehensive set of policy and regulatory measures. These should go beyond the current focus of decarbonisation activities which has largely targeted energy efficiency,” it added.
