Petrokimia Gresik Pledges Support for the Advancement of Clean Energy in the Nation with Green Hydrogen & Green Ammonia Initiatives

Petrokimia Gresik, a leading Agroindustry Solutions company and a member of the Pupuk Indonesia group, is committed to supporting the development of clean energy in Indonesia by facilitating the development of green hydrogen and green ammonia integration in the Petrokimia Gresik area. This program is an initiative of Pupuk Indonesia in collaboration with PT PLN (Persero) and the Saudi Arabian company ACWA Power.

Rahmad Pribadi, President Director of Pupuk Indonesia, revealed in the BUMN Performance Report 2023 segment on the CNBC Indonesia Squawk Box program in Jakarta recently that in 2023, Pupuk Indonesia has prepared a master plan for business development. One of them is the development of green hydrogen and green ammonia, which will be the mainstay of Pupuk Indonesia's growth in the future.

"We have collaborated with many parties, and we have also established several points for development with different technologies and methods. In Gresik (Petrokimia Gresik, Ed.), we will develop a green industry based on solar energy," he said.

"This is the industry of the future. If we don't start now, we will be left behind," Rahmad Pribadi added.

Meanwhile, Dwi Satriyo Annurogo, President Director of Petrokimia Gresik, expressed the company's readiness to support the development of green hydrogen and green ammonia. He revealed that the agreement for the clean energy development study at Petrokimia Gresik was signed by the parties and witnessed by the Ministry of State-Owned Enterprises in July 2023. The project is currently in the feasibility study stage, involving the collection of technical data related to the existing Ammonia Plant and several facilities to be utilized.

"In this project, Petrokimia Gresik is tasked by Pupuk Indonesia to prepare land for the construction of an electrolyzer, a device that will produce green hydrogen from water. Subsequently, this green hydrogen will be sent to Petrokimia Gresik's Plant 1A or 1B, depending on which study result is more feasible, to produce green ammonia," said Dwi Satriyo.

He further stated that the company is in constant coordination with relevant parties to ensure the smooth progress of the project and meet the target. The target set for the fourth quarter of 2026 is the commencement of commercial operations.

The collaboration for the development of green hydrogen and green ammonia is a tangible effort to implement the commitment of the Pupuk Indonesia Group to clean energy development, which has previously collaborated with ACWA Power Company. "This is one of Pupuk Indonesia's efforts, together with Petrokimia Gresik and other subsidiaries, to support the government's energy resilience program, a focus of the Golden Indonesia 2024 Vision," said Dwi Satriyo.

Petrokimia Gresik is chosen as the site for the construction of the green hydrogen and green ammonia plant because it has the potential for clean energy sources from solar and wind power plants with a maximum capacity of 200 MW, producing green hydrogen that will be converted into green ammonia at Petrokimia Gresik.

Through this collaboration, Pupuk Indonesia, together with PLN and ACWA Power Company, will evaluate the conversion of green hydrogen into green ammonia using the existing Ammonia Plant facilities and explore opportunities for long-term collaboration with green ammonia offtakers.

It is noteworthy that green hydrogen is hydrogen obtained from clean sources without carbon emissions. ACWA Power Company is currently developing the NEOM green hydrogen project in Saudi Arabia with a green energy requirement of 40 GW, making it one of the largest green hydrogen projects in the world. ACWA has also developed the Noor Energy Project in the UAE-Abu Dhabi, the world's largest concentrated solar power project, and the Shuaa Solar Power Energy Project.

Therefore, Pupuk Indonesia, as one of the world's largest ammonia producers, can play a strategic role in supporting clean energy through the development of green ammonia in Indonesia. Green ammonia is a chemical compound that can be a future clean energy source and a medium for transporting hydrogen or a hydrogen carrier.