Setting up green ammonia plant in India: Essar group's Prashant Ruia

After exiting the Indian steel and oil refinery space, the Essar group is back in the news for its $3.6-billion investment in the United Kingdom and India in the green energy space. In an interview, Prashant Ruia, scion of the Essar group, tells Dev Chatterjee that the group will be a major player in the green energy space with India and United Kingdom acting as manufacturing hubs. Edited excerpts:  

Q. A large part of Essar group’s $3.6 billion investment is in the UK. Do you plan to invest more in India?

We are setting up a green ammonia plant in India with an initial investment of $1.2 billion. We are in the process of selecting the site for the project and we will make an announcement about the site very soon. The products will be shipped from India to the UK and Europe and other geographies. As the project develops, we will look at increasing investments.

Q. How are you planning to fund the project? Will you approach Indian banks?

The project will be funded through both debt and equity and we will approach banks in India and abroad for debt. We have five major projects under the Essar Energy Transition. This includes the Stanlow refinery, Indian green ammonia manufacturing plant, EET Future Energies, bio fuels and carbon capture initiatives. We plan to commission the projects by 2026 and 2027.

Q. Apart from green energy, is the group investing in any other projects in India? 

Our other investments in India include setting up an LNG value chain, including LNG truck manufacturing and LNG fuel stations, and setting up a pellet plant in Odisha. We are also investing in a 4-million tonnes per annum green steel complex at Ras Al-Khair, Saudi Arabia. These projects are out of EET, which was launched today.

Q. Why the entry into green energy?

Our strategy is based on the fact that hydrogen and biofuels are fast becoming significant fuels of the future and the UK is positioned strongly to spearhead the rapid growth of the European low-carbon fuels market.

The UK  benefits from an advanced regulatory and policy framework to support low carbon energy production, including the UK government’s target of achieving 10 Gw of hydrogen production by 2030, alongside developing low-carbon hydrogen infrastructure, expertise and significant customer demand.