Maire Tecnimont Group begins work on Kenyan renewable power-to-fertilizer plant

Oserian Two Lakes Industrial Park is a new 150 ha. sustainable development in Nakuru County. Its aim is to provide a safe landing spot for vision-aligned businesses and investors and become a demonstration case for East Africa’s sustainable industrialisation. The Industrial Park is privately owned and operated by Oserian Development Company and is the anchor to a 7500 ha. mixed-use development, called Oserian Two Lakes, which comprises horticulture, industry and commerce, residential, tourism and wildlife conservation across three valleys.

The renewable power-to-fertilizer plant will support Kenya’s low carbon and inclusive growth, its agricultural output and its smallholder farmers and communities. The plant will be located near one of the country’s largest geothermal energy basins and will be partly powered by solar energy sources produced on-site – displacing the need for fossil fuels – and eliminating carbon from the production. The facility will reduce carbon emission with approximately 100 000 tpy of CO₂, compared to a gas-based fertilizer plant. The project will also reduce the dependency of imported nitrogen fertilizers and substitute approximately 25%, of which the total accounts for around 800 kt/a¹. Furthermore, the project will increase fertilizer affordability and ensure the availability of fertilizers at the right time in the season for fertilizer application.

Maire Tecnimont Group’s Stamicarbon, the innovation and license company and a world market leader in designing fertilizer plants, will provide both its Stami Green Ammonia Technology to produce ammonia, and its nitric acid technology as an integrated technology package for the manufacturing of nitrate fertilizer. The technology configuration – which is characterised by a modularised approach and is therefore ideal for small scale facilities – will be one of the first of its kind, although based on proven technology.

The renewable power-to-fertilizer project targets to produce 550 mt per day of Calcium Ammonium Nitrate (CAN) and/or NPK fertilizers (fertilizers based on Nitrogen, Phosphorous and Potassium) and will be the first state-of-the-art, commercial-scale nitrate fertilizer plant from renewables. MET Development is currently engaging with local and international partners to set up the development consortium.

The project has started preliminary engineering works, and NextChem aims to start the Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) by the end of 2021. The goal is to start commercial operation of the plant in 2025, which will be dedicated to local Kenyan agri-business. The fertilizer product is predominately produced as CAN and will have the flexibility to produce NPK fertilizers in addition to meet the demand of local agricultural requirements.

The project will utilise approximately 70 MW of renewable power, will create the starting point for locally produced Kenyan fertilizer, and is expected to directly generate over 100 jobs in the region, while supporting the broader economy and its farmers.

¹ Argus Media, 2019.

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