The power of ammonia
Deepsea ammonia cargo holds hope for a cleaner future. About 90 percent of ammonia produced worldwide is used in fertilizer, to help sustain food production for billions of people. Solvang transports this vital chemical safely around the world.
Ammonia is one of the most important building blocks of modern society. Few chemicals have had a comparable impact on human development. Without ammonia, global food systems as we know them would not exist.
Each year, around 80% of the nearly 200 million tonnes of ammonia produced around the globe is used in fertilizers. This enables food production for billions of people. Nitrogen is essential for plant growth, yet modern agriculture rapidly depletes soil nutrients. Ammoniabased fertilizers replenish these nutrients efficiently, sustaining crop yields and improving the nutritional quality of food by supporting trace elements such as zinc and selenium.
Significant global carrier
For ammonia to fulfil its role in agriculture and industry, it must move safely and reliably between continents.
Ammonia is toxic, transported under pressure and refrigeration, and demands specialized vessels, systems and competence. With no margin for error, Solvang’s approach is layered safety and continuous improvement:
• Purpose-built gas carriers with ammonia systems
• Redundant monitoring, alarms and emergency
response
• Specialized ammonia handling crews
• Strict procedures, tight coordination with terminal
and charterers
Over the last 10-15 years, Solvang has transported on average nearly 10% of all oceangoing ammonia cargo worldwide, placing the company among the world’s most significant carriers.
80% of the 180 million tonnes of global ammonia
produced is used in fertilizers. This enables food
Production for billions of people.
Ammonia - key global figures
| Indicator | Approximate value |
| Annual global ammonia production | ~200 million tonnes |
| Share used for fertilizers | ~80% |
| Share of global food production depending on ammonia fertiliziers | 50% |
| Solvang’s share of global ammonia transport by sea, historically on average | 10% |
Main producing regions:
Asia, Middle East, North America
Emerging growth drivers:
Energy transition, hydrogen carrier, zero-carbon fuels
Transpacific corridor
Global ammonia supply is unevenly distributed and not aligned with a growing demand, which shifts rapidly between regions due to ammonia’s emerging applications within the energy transition, as a hydrogen carrier or as a future zero-carbon fuel.
Through various preparations and arrangements, Solvang positions the company to be able to serve any emerging demand of ammonia in East Asia to be supplied by production capacity in North America, opening a possible future trade from the US to Japan.
Ammonia types
The dominant production process for ammonia is grey ammonia processing, which uses conventional natural gas, with a significant carbon footprint.
Blue ammonia is produced from natural gas, but in combination with carbon capture and storage, or other technology removing GHG emissions from the production.
The third category of green ammonia is produced with renewable electricity, providing ammonia with near-zero lifecycle emissions.
Global proportion of grey ammonia: >98%
Global proportion of blue ammonia: ~1%
Global proportion of green ammonia: <1%
