LUPRO, a Korean green energy company, signed a three-way agreement with Oman’s largest energy company, Muscat House, and Thailand’s energy company, MA Corporation, to produce, supply, and sell green ammonia.

The signing ceremony was attended by Kim Se-ho, chairman of LUPRO, Mohammed Al Rumihi, former Minister of Energy and Minerals of Oman, and Achiraj Son Itawan, CEO of MA Corporation.

Earlier this year, LUPRO established a local subsidiary in Oman, ELUFO Oman, with Muscat House as the chairman, and signed a contract with Muscat House to produce and supply green ammonia.

At the same time, LUPRO also signed a green ammonia sales contract with Thailand’s Ma Corporation. This tripartite agreement signifies that the business has begun in earnest as the business officials of the three countries gathered together for the first time.

Under the agreement, LUPRO and Muscat House plan to begin construction of a green ammonia production facility in the Duhok Economic Free Zone on the east coast of Oman next year through LUPRO Oman, and produce ammonia to supply to Thailand starting in 2027.

First, the two companies will produce 1 million tons of green ammonia per year and a total of 5 million tons over five years using a 2 gigawatt (GW) power generation facility to supply it to Thailand. The supply amount alone is 6.5 trillion won over five years, and the plan is to expand the power facilities to more than 5 GW to produce more than 2.5 million tons per year and expand the supply to global markets such as Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, and South Korea.

The ammonia produced here is ‘green ammonia’ made using solar and wind power, and it is significant in that it is the world’s first project to have a full cycle of production, transportation, and sales of green ammonia.

Ammonia (NH3) is a compound made up of nitrogen (N) and hydrogen (H), which is harmless to the human body and can be used as a raw material for fertilizers or as fuel for transportation.

In particular, hydrogen is safer and more economical to convert into ammonia and store and transport than to compress or liquefy it directly, so ammonia is attracting attention as a key hydrogen storage and transportation method in the era of the hydrogen economy.

However, converting hydrogen into ammonia or ammonia into hydrogen requires a huge amount of electricity, so securing price and cost-effectiveness has been considered the key to commercialization.

LUPRO plans to introduce a new business model in the era of energy transition by producing green hydrogen using cheap electricity from abundant solar and wind energy in the Middle East, converting it into green ammonia, and supplying green ammonia and green hydrogen that are more economical than other renewable energy and conventional fossil fuels such as bunker C oil.

“It costs about 330 won per kilowatt (KW) in Korea, but in Oman, green ammonia can be produced at a cost of 5 won per KW,” said Kim Se-ho, the chairman of LUPRO. ”It is economically viable enough to be established as a new business model in the era of energy transition.”

The Duhuk region in eastern Oman can generate solar power all year round and also utilize wind power by using the abundant wind at Duhuk Port.