Yara and Scatec Ink Renewable Ammonia Offtake Deal

Yara International ASA's YARIY division Yara Clean Ammonia, Scatec ASA and its partners Egyptian Petrochemicals Holding Company ("ECHEM") and Misr Fertilizers Production Company ("MOPCO") have reached a deal on the terms of renewable ammonia offtake from Egypt. Scatec, ECHEM and MOPCO signed a joint development and shareholder agreement last year to produce renewable ammonia.

The sponsors will design and build up to 480 MW of renewable energy, as well as a 240 MW electrolyzer facility for producing renewable hydrogen, which will be utilized as feedstock for MOPCO's existing ammonia production facility in Damietta, Egypt. The target production capacity is up to 150,000 tons of renewable ammonia per year. Scatec also signed a letter of intent with the European Investment Bank ("EIB") to secure long-term funding for the project, demonstrating EIB's commitment to supporting renewable hydrogen and ammonia projects in Egypt.

This project will bolster Yara Clean Ammonia's renewable ammonia sourcing portfolio and demonstrate its position as the most desired off-taker as the world's leading ammonia trader and distributor. The renewable ammonia from this project will allow it to reliably serve its customers across several markets.

The green transition depends on enabling industry to use renewable energy, EIB noted. Accelerating renewable hydrogen generation in Egypt can boost business competitiveness and create prospects for exporting renewable hydrogen. EIB is looking forward to working with Scatec and project partners to unleash large-scale renewable hydrogen investment in Egypt.

Shares of Yara have lost 25.3% over the past year compared with a 23.9% decline of its industry.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Zacks Rank & Key Picks

Yara currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Better-ranked stocks in the basic materials space include Carpenter Technology Corporation, Ecolab Inc. ECL and Kronos Worldwide, Inc. KRO.

Carpenter Technology currently carries a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). CRS beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the last four quarters, with the average earnings surprise being 15.1%. The company's shares have soared 93.2% in the past year.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Ecolab's current-year earnings is pegged at $6.59 per share, indicating a year-over-year rise of 26.5%. ECL, a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) stock, beat the consensus estimate in each of the last four quarters, with the average earnings surprise being 1.3%. The company's shares have rallied roughly 32.3% in the past year.

Kronos Worldwide currently carries a Zacks Rank #2. KRO has a projected earnings growth rate of 297.7% for the current year. The company's shares have rallied around 42% in the past year.

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