State-run SJVN’s green energy arm signs deal with AM Green to supply 4.5 GW renewable energy for its ammonia facilities

New Delhi: In what is one of the world’s largest carbon-free green energy supply contract, state-run SJVN's green energy arm will supply 4.5 gigawatt (GW) of renewable energy to AM Green Ammonia Holdings. 

The company, promoted by Greenko Group founders Mahesh Kolli and Anil Kumar Chalamalasetty, is in the process of setting up one of the world's largest green ammonia production facilities, which will begin with the production of one million tonnes of green ammonia per annum in the first phase, and ramp it up to five million tonnes per annum (mtpa) in the second, set to be completed by 2030. 

Five million tonnes of green ammonia is equivalent to about one million tonnes of green hydrogen.

Under the agreement signed on 26 June, SJVN Green Energy (SGEL) will supply 4.5 GW of renewable energy to AM Green’s upcoming green ammonia facilities, said a company statement. 

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SGEL, a wholly owned subsidiary of SJVN, will set up the required solar and wind capacities, while AM Green will integrate it with pumped hydro storage to ensure a steady supply of green energy to its production facilities.

SJVN plans to execute the project in three phases, with the first phase expected to deliver 1,500 MW within two years.

Mahesh Kolli, founder, Greenko Group and AM Green, said: “We are delighted to partner with SJVN on one of the world’s largest carbon-free, renewable energy supply contracts. This partnership demonstrates AM Green’s emerging leadership position as a global clean energy transition solutions platform while contributing to India’s ambition of emerging as an exporter of reliable, sustainable and lowest-cost green molecules and its derivatives accelerating industrial decarbonisation globally.”

AM Green's target of producing five mtpa of green ammonia represents a fifth of India’s target for green hydrogen production under the country’s National Green Hydrogen Mission and 10% of Europe’s target for green hydrogen imports by 2030.

Ajay Singh, chief executive of SGEL, noted that the project marks SJVN’s foray into supplying power to private sector entities. 

"With our ambitious capacity addition targets, SJVN is actively pursuing opportunities across the spectrum and is keen to take forward this arrangement with AM Green,” Singh added.

In October 2023, Malasiya-based Gentari Sdn Bhd, through its wholly owned subsidiary Gentari International Renewables Pte Ltd, had signed a deal with AM Green to jointly invest in AM Green Ammonia Holdings BV (AMG Ammonia), in phases. Singapore's sovereign wealth fund, GIC, is also an investor in AM Green.

Gentari Sdn Bhd, a unit of Malaysia’s state-run oil and gas company Petroliam Nasional Bhd or Petronas, has a 30% stake in AM Green.

Further, the company has a robust pipeline of power offtake agreements, including from NTPC Renewables and Gentari, to support its green hydrogen ambitions. 

Also Read: AM Green partners Envision Energy for wind turbines, green hydrogen projects

With these agreements in place, AM Green, which is on the fast track to a final investment decision (FID) for its first 2-mtpa green ammonia project early this year, has positioned itself ahead of competitors aiming for green ammonia capacity addition in India and globally.

In May, Greenko ZeroC—the green ammonia production arm of AM Green—secured a deal to supply renewable ammonia to Norway’s Yara Clean Ammonia, the world’s largest trader and distributor of ammonia.

Further back in January this year, AM Green, which specializes in green hydrogen and green ammonia production, had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Envision Energy International for the manufacturing of wind turbines for its needs. 

In addition to wind turbine production, the collaboration extends to the development of green hydrogen projects and the establishment of net zero industrial parks.