China Huadian green ammonia project breaks ground with $620M plan for 100,000 t/yr at Yingkou port

State-owned power company China Huadian has started construction of a green hydrogen and green ammonia complex at Yingkou Port in Liaoning province, northeast China. The project costs CNY 4.41 billion (USD 620 million) and is designed to produce 100,000 metric tons of renewable ammonia a year. The groundbreaking ceremony took place on September 23.

The China Huadian green ammonia project will draw its power from a dedicated 500 MW wind farm, according to Hydrogen Insight. The China Hydrogen Bulletin describes it as China’s first project to integrate the full chain at a port. That chain runs from wind power and green hydrogen production through ammonia synthesis, tank storage, port loading and outbound shipment.

Building next to the quay addresses one of the main cost problems for inland Chinese green ammonia plants: moving product from windy interior provinces to coastal demand and export terminals. A port-side site lets output go directly onto vessels, positioning Yingkou for both domestic distribution and future seaborne trade in low-carbon ammonia.

China already hosts several of the world’s largest green ammonia projects, mostly in Inner Mongolia and Jilin. The Yingkou plant adds a coastal, export-ready node as the sector moves from announcements to construction. The company has not disclosed an electrolyzer supplier or a start-up date.

At 100,000 metric tons a year, the plant is small relative to China’s conventional ammonia output. For fertilizer buyers, the key question is whether projects like this secure long-term offtake, either for domestic urea and nitrate production or for export customers facing carbon-border rules.

Source: Hydrogen Insight