HE Dr. William Ruto CGH, President of Kenya, and Dr. Andrew Forrest, Executive Chairman of Fortescue, witnessed the signing of a legally binding Framework Agreement between the Government of Kenya and Fortescue Future Industries (FFI) on the sidelines of COP27 in a significant effort to replace imported polluting fertilizer.
The Agreement intends to hasten Kenya’s establishment of a competitive green fertilizer supply chain as well as other environmentally friendly hydrogen-based industries and their byproducts.
This will benefit Kenya by producing fertilizer free of fossil fuels, strengthening local industries, creating skilled jobs, and reducing Kenya’s dependence on imports from other countries.
According to the Agreement, FFI and the Government of Kenya will collaborate to build a 300MW green ammonia and green fertilizer complex by 2025. This eliminates the need to import similar quantities of fertilizer while supplying domestic consumers with affordable green fertilizer and addressing food security.
The parties envisage that two further projects, which may scale up renewable electricity generation for green industries by up to 25GW and ultimately produce up to 1.7 million tonnes of green hydrogen per year for export, will begin feasibility studies after that.
The Agreement was originally discussed by the President of Kenya and the Executive Chairman of Fortescue while they were in New York for the UN General Assembly in September 2022.
The Agreement will solidify FFI’s commitment to accelerating major investment in the development of green industrial facilities in Naivasha, Mombasa, and Lamu, with the potential to deliver significant manufacturing and industrial development to Kenya and the creation of thousands of new jobs.
A pre-feasibility study will be conducted for the inaugural green hydrogen and green ammonia complex that will be built near the Olkaria geothermal resource in the Naivasha area. A final investment decision by FFI is anticipated in 2023.
President Dr. William Ruto, His Excellency, remarked, “We all anticipate that Kenya and FFI will have a long and successful cooperation, which officially begins today. I ran for office on a platform of expanding opportunities for regional businesses, industries, and communities.” That goal will be fulfilled, and this Agreement will promote Kenya’s continued economic and infrastructure development.
“The opening day of COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh, where we want to see action, not just words, is the most crucial time for us to officially recognize the start of this connection.
“We are dedicated to Kenya becoming an African leader in renewable energy. Together with FFI, we eagerly anticipate accelerating the global energy transition for the benefit of Africa.
The doctor remarked, “Present-day ammonia and fertilizer production generates a significant amount of CO2 emissions and relies almost entirely on fossil fuels.
“Kenya can stop relying on imports, lower fertilizer costs, and improve its economic and food security by switching to green ammonia instead of fossil fuels.
The deal reached today places Kenya on the road to industrial decarbonization, and we are determined to travel every step of the way with Kenya.
