Good morning, dear getquin community.

I've been looking closely at the CSP hybrid ecosystem from China recently and listened to an interesting article by futurologist Lars Thomsen. Today I would like to tell you why I think this system is one of the most exciting energy projects of the coming years. I don't want to withhold the results of this research from you.

Before we get into the topic, a quick word about the last post.

Thank you for your strong interaction, support, likes and participation. It was good to see that so many of you sent a clear signal to getquin to finally get things moving. It was just as nice to see that it @Tenbagger2024 motivated you to carry on and give new impetus. It's moments like this that keep the community together.

Speaking of momentum.

Today I'm giving you a new one. Because what is currently being built in China is more than just an energy project. It is a blueprint for an infrastructure that, in my eyes, puts coal and nuclear power plants in the shade.

Before we start, a quick note. I already wrote a first post on this topic. I'm now building on this, but in a much more comprehensive, clearly structured way and with more details so that the connections are easier for you to grasp.

I also @SAUgut777 had already addressed the topic back then, so I would like to mention him here as well. I'm including the link to my earlier article, China is reshaping the sun and Energy 4.0 Part 1. https://getqu.in/OIMCfh/
https://getqu.in/G4f1Tk/

The global energy transition will not be won by individual technologies but by integrative systems that must fulfill two decisive factors: Scalability and base load capability . What we are currently seeing in China is the construction of the most modern energy infrastructure that radically solves the decades-old problem of solar and wind volatility. Not with wind turbines and solar panels alone, but with a system that supplies base load, integrates storage and enables scaling. The centerpiece is the CSP Hybrid Ecosystemin which solar thermal energy, photovoltaics and gigantic battery storage units are combined to create a continuous 24/7 power source power source.

Technically explained: The new paradigm is the CSP hybrid ecosystem. It combines the rapidly erected photovoltaic (PV) fields with the thermal storage of Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) plants and complements both with massive Battery Energy Storage System (BESS). This intelligent coupling provides stable electricity 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and makes the system a direct and superior competitor to coal and nuclear power.

How the system works

1. mirrors collect sunlight

The surface at the bottom left consists of many movable mirrors (heliostats, point 1).

They are constantly aligned with the sun and focus the light onto the top of the tower (reflected sunlight, point 2).

2. the tower heats a heat medium

The solar oven (3) is located at the top of the tower.

There, the concentrated light hits a system of pipes through which a heat-conducting fluid runs (typically molten salts or oil).

This fluid becomes extremely hot, often several hundred degrees (4).

3. heat is converted into vapor

At the bottom of the building, the hot fluid transfers its energy to water in the steam generator (6), turning it into steam under high pressure (7). Pumps (5) keep the cycle going: hot fluid → cooled fluid → back up into the tower.

4. turbine and generator produce electricity

The pressurized steam drives a turbine (8). The turbine is connected to a generator (10), which converts the mechanical energy into electricity.

5. steam is liquefied again

The steam then enters the condenser (9), cools down and becomes water again. Then it goes back into the steam generator.

6. feed into the power grid

The electricity is brought to a higher voltage via a transformer (11) and fed into the grid via the high-voltage lines (12).

The gigawatt comparison and the true added value. A modern nuclear power plant constantly supplies around 1 GW to 1.6 GW of power. This output is continuous but extremely expensive, inflexible and ties up capital for over a decade. A CSP hybrid park in the Chinese desert can achieve a peak output of 5 GW. However, the real added value is the guaranteed base load capacity of 1 GW to 3 GW that can be called up 24/7 thanks to integrated thermal storage and batteries. This intelligent coupling provides stable electricity and makes the plant a direct and superior competitor to coal and nuclear power. This is the disruptive difference: the new generation delivers the same necessary base load but with much higher capital efficiency and 10 years shorter construction time. This makes nuclear power plants an outdated investment model.

The economic key lies in China Speed. It takes ten to 15 years for a nuclear power plant to produce any electricity at all. The Chinese mega bases reach base load capability in 18 to 24 months. This rapid time to market reduces capital costs and raises profitability to a level that is unattainable for traditional power generation.

🌍 Globalization of the Sun Belt: 8 investment pillars

China is exporting the hybrid model to the entire global sunbelt. MENA, North Africa, South America, Australia and Central Asia are among the new core markets. The pipeline is growing every year. The investment opportunities lie in the 8 fundamental pillars that make this infrastructure possible:

1. optics and mirror technology - These companies provide the optical basis for every CSP park

Big players

$SGO (+2,26 %) Saint-Gobain (EPA: SGO) - France - World leader in specialty glass and high-tech materials. Supplies glass solutions and coatings for heliostats and CSP mirror systems.

Schott AG - Germany, private - Specialty glass and receiver tubes for many of the existing CSP plants. Key role in collector efficiency and lifetime.

Hidden champions

Rioglass Solar - Spain, private - Market leader for curved mirrors and receiver components especially for CSP parks. Strong in projects in Spain, MENA and Latin America.

Flabeg FE - Germany, private - High-precision mirrors for solar thermal energy. Supplies optics that directly determine the efficiency of power plants.

$000012 CSG Holding - China, Shenzhen - Large Chinese glass manufacturer with a growing focus on solar and CSP glass products.

2. storage chemistry and thermal media - They supply the chemical storage media for molten salt storage and heat transfer

Big player

$NTR (+0 %) Nutrien (NYSE: NTR / TSX: NTR) - Canada - One of the largest fertilizer and nitrate suppliers in the world. Supplies nitrates for thermal storage and molten salt mixtures.

$YAR (+2,71 %) Yara International (OSE: YAR) - Norway - Global fertilizer company. Produces nitrates and nitrogen chemicals that can be used in molten salt storage facilities.

$OCI (+4,94 %) OCI N.V. (AMS: OCI) - Netherlands - Produces hydrogen and natural gas-based products, including nitrogen chemicals for thermal storage solutions.

Hidden Champions

$SQM (+0,67 %) Sociedad Química y Minera (NYSE: SQM) - Chile - Lithium and specialty chemicals producer. Supplies lithium and nitrate salts for battery and thermal storage.

$MIN (-1,06 %) Mineral Resources (ASX: MIN) - Australia - Combines lithium mining and processing. Important for lithium-based storage chains.

$SOLB (-0,45 %) Solvay (EBR: SOLB) - Belgium - Specialty chemicals and heat transfer fluids, relevant for CSP and storage applications.

3. battery and energy storage systems (BESS) - The combination of BESS and thermal storage is the real 24/7 engine of CSP parks

Big player

$3750 (+0 %) CATL - China - World market leader for EV batteries and large-scale storage. Supplies complete BESS systems for grids and CSP hybrid parks.

$1211 (+4,25 %) BYD Co Ltd - China - Integrated battery and system provider. Provides energy storage systems for industrial and utility-scale applications.

$373220 LG Energy Solution (KRX: 373220) - South Korea - Global cell supplier with a strong focus on high-performance cells for e-mobility and stationary storage.

$SMSN (+4,59 %) Samsung SDI (KRX: 006400) - South Korea - Premium cells and modular storage solutions for grid and industrial applications.

Hidden Champions

$FLNC (+5,59 %) Fluence Energy (NASDAQ: FLNC) - USA - Joint venture between Siemens Energy and AES. Market leader in turnkey large-scale storage projects and operating software.

Powin Energy - USA, private - System integrator for utility-scale storage with a strong presence in North America and Asia.

$300274 Sungrow Power Supply (SZSE: 300274) - China - Well-known for inverters, growing strongly in the area of integrated BESS solutions for large-scale projects.

4. HVDC, cables and power transmission - HVDC turns desert power into exportable base load power

Big player

$HTHIY (+5,36 %) Hitachi Energy - Switzerland / Japan, part of the Hitachi Group $HTHIY - World leader in HVDC converters, substations and grid control.

$PRY (+3,25 %) Prysmian (BIT: PRY) - Italy - Largest manufacturer of high-voltage cables and submarine cables, central role in European HVDC projects.

$NEX (+3,02 %) Nexans (EPA: NEX) - France - Specialized in power and submarine cables, important for long-distance transmission of desert electricity to Europe.

$ABBN (+1,04 %) ABB (SWX: ABBN) - Switzerland - HVDC converters, switchgear and grid automation for large-scale projects.

Hidden Champions

$NKT (+1,95 %) NKT A/S (CPH: NKT) - Denmark - Cable specialist with a focus on high-voltage and offshore wind connections.

Taihan - South Korea, private - Major Asian manufacturer of high-voltage cables with a growing export share.

$ANA (+2,6 %) Acciona (BME: ANA) - Spain - Not only EPC, but also active in grid connections and infrastructure for large-scale renewable projects.

5. hydrogen and Power-to-X - Surplus electricity from hybrid parks is processed into green hydrogen

Big player

$LIN (-3,69 %) Linde plc (NASDAQ: LIN) - Ireland / global - The world's largest industrial gases group. Plans, builds and operates large-scale electrolysis and liquefaction plants for green hydrogen.

$NCH2 (-0,03 %) thyssenkrupp nucera (XETRA: NCH2) - Germany - Specialist for multi-gigawatt scale alkaline electrolyzers, key supplier for industrial H2 projects.

$NEL (+2,78 %) Nel ASA (OSE: NEL) - Norway - Pure hydrogen player with focus on electrolyzers and H2 tank infrastructure.

Hidden Champions

$PLUG (+10,41 %) Plug Power (NASDAQ: PLUG) - USA - PEM electrolysis, fuel cells and H2 infrastructure, increasingly involved in large-scale projects.

$BE (-5,19 %) Bloom Energy (NYSE: BE) - USA - Develops higher efficiency solid oxide electrolyzers for industrial H2 generation.

$ITM (+1,8 %) ITM Power (LSE: ITM) - United Kingdom - Focused on utility-scale PEM electrolysis, strong in European project business.

$HPUR (+2,53 %) Hexagon Purus (OSL: HPUR) - Norway - Specialist in high-pressure tanks and transportation solutions for compressed hydrogen.

6. EPC, engineering and construction - These companies enable construction in less than two years

Big players

$601669 Power Construction Corporation of China (SSE: 601669) - China - One of the largest engineering and construction groups in the world. Builds dams, large-scale PV and CSP plants, including grid connection.

$601727 Shanghai Electric Group (SSE: 601727) - China - Full-service provider for CSP, turbines, storage integration and EPC services.

$ANA (+2,6 %) Acciona (BME: ANA) - Spain - Global EPC player for solar, wind and CSP, strong in MENA and Latin America.

Hidden champions

SEPCO III - China, private - Highly specialized EPC for large power plants and CSP projects, often partner in Saudi Arabia and North Africa.

$WOR (+0,65 %) Worley Limited (ASX: WOR) - Australia - Engineering and project services provider for energy infrastructure, including hybrid and storage projects.

$3996 (+2,03 %) China Energy Engineering Corp (HKEX: 3996) - China - Large state-owned EPC group, active in the development of solar and grid projects in Asia, Africa and MENA.

7. turbines and power plant technology - CSP Hybrid is ultimately based on modern thermal power technology, only climate neutral

Big player

$ENR (+3,66 %) Siemens Energy (XETRA: ENR) - Germany - Turbines, generators, switchgear and grid solutions. Core supplier for the thermal side of CSP hybrids.

$GE (+4,23 %) General Electric (NYSE: GE) - USA - Steam turbines and power plant technology used directly in hybrid farms and thermal storage systems.

Hidden champions

$1072 (-6,85 %) Dongfang Electric (HKEX: 1072) - China - Major turbine and power plant equipment supplier, strong in domestic market and MENA project.

$1133 (-0,95 %) Harbin Electric (HKEX: 1133) - China - Manufacturer of turbines, generators and power plant components, active in large-scale conventional and renewable power plants.

8. blade manufacturers and construction materials for CSP hybrid parks

8.1 Construction and mining equipment

Big Player

$CAT (+6,69 %) Caterpillar (USA, NYSE: CAT) - World's largest manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, dozers, excavators, dump trucks, generators. Provides heavy equipment for earthmoving, foundation construction and park infrastructure.

$6301 (+1,13 %) Komatsu (Japan, TSE: 6301) - Number two worldwide in construction and mining equipment. Excavators, wheel loaders, large dump trucks and special machines used in desert projects and large construction sites.

$SAND (+1,53 %) Sandvik (Sweden, OMX: SAND) - Drilling technology, rock processing, wear parts. Important for foundation construction, cable routes and the raw materials side of the value chain.

$EPI A (+1,75 %) Epiroc (Sweden, OMX: EPI A) - Drilling rigs and underground equipment, wherever CSP infrastructure is built on difficult terrain.

Hidden champions

$6305 (+1,53 %) Hitachi Construction Machinery (Japan, TSE: 6305) - Strong presence in Asia and MENA, large excavators and wheel loaders for deserts and large construction sites.

$DE (+2,89 %) Wirtgen Group / John Deere $DE (USA) - Road construction, milling, compaction. Benefit from the expansion of access roads, platforms and logistics around CSP parks.

8.2 Steel, tubes and sections

Big player

$MT (+6,94 %) ArcelorMittal (Luxembourg, NYSE: MT) - Global steel group with flat and long products. Supplies beams, sections and structural steel for tower structures, racks and infrastructure.

$5401 (+8,25 %) Nippon Steel (Japan, TSE: 5401) - High-quality steel for energy and infrastructure applications, including heat-resistant steels.

$TEN (+1,81 %) Tenaris (Luxembourg/Argentina, NYSE: TS) - Leading manufacturer of seamless steel tubes for energy, pipelines and high-pressure systems. Relevant for heat exchanger circuits, media pipelines and infrastructure in the CSP environment.

$VK (+2,1 %) Vallourec (France, EPA: VK) - Specialty tubes and high-performance steels for energy projects, including high-temperature pipelines.

Hidden Champions

$5411 (+6,9 %) JFE Holdings (Japan, TSE: 5411) - steels and tubes for large-scale projects, with a focus on Asia.

$TUB (+0 %) Tubacex (Spain, BME: TUB) - Seamless stainless steel tubes for high temperature and corrosive environments, directly relevant for CSP heat and process piping.

$NXT Nextpower (USA) - Steel-intensive tracker systems for PV fields. Important in hybrid parks where PV and CSP are combined.

$ARRY (+6,61 %) Array Technologies (USA) - Similar to Nextracker, focus on utility-scale tracking systems.

8.3 Cement, concrete and construction chemicals

Big player

$HOLN (+4,34 %) Holcim (Switzerland, SIX: HOLN) - The world's leading supplier of cement and concrete. Supplies foundation concrete, specialty mortars and infrastructure construction materials for major projects, including desert locations.

$HEI (+2,51 %) Heidelberg Materials (Germany, Xetra: HEI) - Strong player in Europe, North Africa and Asia. Cement, concrete and aggregates for foundations, turbine houses, storage blocks.

$CX (+1,23 %) Cemex (Mexico, NYSE: CX) - Globally active in cement and concrete, supplier for infrastructure in MENA and the Americas.

$CRH (+3,99 %) CRH plc (Ireland, NYSE: CRH) - Building materials group with a focus on infrastructure, road construction and precast concrete products.

Hidden Champions

$ULTRACEMCO UltraTech Cement (India, NSE) - India's largest cement manufacturer, relevant for CSP projects in the subcontinent and neighboring regions.

Votorantim Cimentos (Brazil, private / regionally listed) - Strong supplier in Latin America with a direct link to infrastructure and energy projects.

8.4 Industrial components, heat exchangers and process equipment

Big player

$ALFA (+1,18 %) Alfa Laval (Sweden, OMX: ALFA) - Heat exchangers, pumps and separators. Key components for thermal storage, steam generation and process heat in CSP plants.

$FLS (+5,47 %) Flowserve (USA, NYSE: FLS) - Pumps, valves and sealing systems for high-temperature and high-pressure circuits in energy plants.

$SPX (+2,39 %) Spirax Group (UK, LSE: SPX) - Steam and condensate technology, control valves and heat exchange systems, important for the fine control of thermal circuits.

Hidden champions

$IMI (+2,8 %) IMI plc (UK, LSE: IMI) - Specialty valves and control technology for the energy and process industries, especially for demanding media.

$KSB (+4,29 %) KSB SE (Germany, Xetra) - Pumps and valves for the energy, water and process industries. Suitable for cooling water, heat transfer media and storage systems in CSP parks.

🎯 Conclusion and outlook

The CSP hybrid ecosystem eliminates the weaknesses of renewable energies and uses China Speed as an economic lever. This combination creates a capital efficiency that will overtake traditional energy generation in the long term. The investment opportunities range from the Asian battery giants to the European HVDC specialists.

The fundamental question is whether European regulators can adjust the speed of the approval process to allow the continent to keep up with the pace of the Sahara projects and the European EPC companies operating there, or whether the continent will be left behind in terms of energy self-sufficiency.

Takeaway

The real investment case lies in the efficiency superiority of the CSP hybrid system. The ability to provide gigawatts of base load within two years, coupled with thermal storage and BESS, makes this infrastructure one of the strongest energy models of the future. This benefits optics, chemistry, BESS, HVDC, hydrogen, EPC and turbine manufacturers.

Sources: own research + IEA, IRENA, NREL, Fraunhofer ISE, SolarPACES, World Bank, Ember Climate, company reports & technical documentation of the companies mentioned.

Image: https://videos.winfuture.de/27754.mp4

Getty Images, Illustrative image - JLStock / Shutterstock.com

Good morning dear Getquin Community, energy is one of the biggest levers for the transformation of our economy and independence from fossil fuels. Today I would like to introduce you to the exciting solar thermal power (CSP) project from China.

https://videos.winfuture.de/27754.mp4

In the desert, two huge solar towers use thousands of mirrors to concentrate the sun's rays, store the heat in molten salt and use it to reliably generate electricity. The special feature: By storing heat, energy is also provided at night or when it is cloudy. This is a step towards a more stable renewable power supply beyond traditional photovoltaics and wind.

The CSP value chain is broad. The project and turbine side is dominated by $ENR (+3,66 %) Siemens Energy (ENR), $ANA (+2,6 %) Acciona (ANA) and $GE (+4,23 %) General Electric (GE). They supply turbines, engineering and EPC services for the majority of plants worldwide. On the materials and storage side $SGO (+2,26 %) Saint-Gobain (SGO) for glass and mirrors and $YAR (+2,71 %) Yara (YAR), $NTR (+0 %) Nutrien (NTR) and $OCI (+4,94 %) OCI (OCI) for the provision of salts. These components are essential for thermal storage and therefore for the competitiveness of CSP. In addition, there are developers such as Abengoa Solar, BrightSource and Aalborg CSP, which realize special projects.

Takeaway: While photovoltaics has long since arrived in the mainstream, CSP is opening up new niches through the combination of electricity production and storage. The companies that supply mirrors, turbines, chemicals and engineering - the industry's blade manufacturers - are particularly exciting for investors.

The crucial question is whether CSP will manage to establish itself with these players as a serious pillar in the future energy mix alongside PV and wind.

Source: https://winfuture.de/news,152708.html and own creation

Norway's Yara $YAR (+2,71 %) and Petrobras $PETR3 (+1,33 %)
$PETR4 (+1,31 %) cooperate to restart ANSA fertilizer production

Petrobras and Yara have signed two agreements, both based on the resumption of production at Araucaria Nitrogenados S.A. (ANSA), a wholly owned subsidiary of Petrobras, in a further step towards structuring a potential partnership in the fertilizer and industrial products sector.

Under the first agreement, ANSA will produce liquid reducing agents for the automotive industry (ARLA 32), using Yara's high quality urea for the automotive industry as raw material. This will facilitate the resumption of domestic production and reduce dependence on imports. The ARLA 32 will be sold by Yara.

The contract is valid until ANSA resumes production. From then on, ARLA 32 will be produced with raw materials from ANSA itself.

The second is a technical cooperation agreement for the development of joint studies on fertilizers and industrial products, as well as for energy transition efforts related to decarbonization projects, emissions reduction and the production of renewable and low-carbon fertilizers. This scientific, technological and operational cooperation aims to achieve greater production efficiency and increase the supply of these products on the market.

A question for the Norway investors who, for example, invest in $YAR (+2,71 %) invest:

How much work do you have to do to get the withholding tax back from Norway every year? With applications and certificates as well as waiting for the money and possibly answering queries? Does it take a lot of time?

I am thinking about investing, but this 25% withholding tax that is not offset and has to be paid on top of the capital gains tax. This 25% withholding tax, which is not offset and has to be paid on top of the capital gains tax, scares me off too much and I would only invest enough to get maybe €100-150 in dividends and whether I really want to go through the bureaucratic effort for €25-50 withholding tax, if it is high, for a few dozen euros and not rather put it somewhere else where I can save it.

Scandinavian stocks with dividend payouts wanted

Hello everyone,

somehow I like Scandinavian stocks with dividend payouts and now I would like to know from you if you have a company in your portfolio or in mind which interests you. If there is a REIT from Sweden, Norway, Finland... that I don't know, then that would also be great information. Stocks from other segments are also welcome.

So that I can give something back to the community, my favorite stocks (in which I am also invested) including a "blurb" from Trade Republic:

$KCC (+2,12 %) - "Klaveness Combination Carriers ASA is a Norway-based fleet operator. The company owns and operates combination carriers that can switch between dry and wet freight transportation. Its fleet consists of 16

vessels, eight CABU vessels and eight CLEANBU vessels. The CABU (Caustic Soda-Bulk) and CLEANBU (Clean Petroleum Product-Bulk) vessels mainly transport Clean Petroleum Products (CPP) or Caustic Soda Solution (CSS) from refineries and production facilities in the Middle East/India, the Far East or the United States Gulf to end users or traders in Australia and South America, the world's major dry bulk export centers. On the return journey, the combination carriers transport bulk goods such as alumina, bauxite, grain, salt, iron ore and coal."

$HAUTO (+3,15 %) - "Hoegh Autoliners ASA is a Norway-based company operating in the international shipping industry.

Hoegh Autoliners ASA is a holding company and business is conducted through the company's operating subsidiaries. The group is a provider of roll-on-roll-off (RoRo) transportation services. The company offers its customers safe ocean transportation of RoRo cargo such as cars, high and heavy machinery, breakbulk, Car Equivalent Units (CEU) and other rolling and static cargo."

$VAR (+1,95 %) - "Spinnoff" from ENI - "Var Energi ASA is a pure upstream oil and gas company based in Norway. It operates four fields on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS), located in the Barents Sea, the Norwegian Sea and the North Sea. The company's objective is the exploration, development and production of hydrocarbons. Var Energi is involved in large-scale national projects aimed at developing and demonstrating ways to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The company holds ownership interests in more than 30 partner-operated fields."

$VALMT (-7,37 %) - "Valmet Oyj is a Finland-based company that develops and provides services and technologies for the pulp, paper and energy industries. The company's services cover the entire cycle from maintenance outsourcing to mill and plant improvements and spare parts. The

company operates in four business segments: Services, Pulp and Energy, and Paper, which includes the development of products and services and global customer projects in the paper, pulp, tissue, paper and board, and bioenergy industries; and the Automation segment, which includes process automation. The company operates both domestically and overseas, including South, Central and North America, China, Asia and Europe."

I am still looking for the "right" entry point for these stocks: $YAR (+2,71 %)
$ELK (+1,53 %)

If you have any questions about the values, I can certainly go into them in more detail.

Thank you very much.

How penguins revolutionized our modern agriculture.

Hello dear community,

Thank you for the great feedback on my last post. I hope your oven survived the practical tests well.

For those who want to show their oven new horizons, go here to the mentioned post:

https://getqu.in/2A360BDV8GYN/n12zGfGeeF/

Once again as food for thought, as I myself will run out of topics in a few weeks.

What topics from the industrial, energy or chemical sectors do you perhaps scrutinize more often than investors?

Enclosed is my heartfelt comment on the topic of "ammonia". I hope you like it.

Why ammonia is the better alternative to "green" hydrogen.

1. meaning and history:

Ammonia is one of the most widely produced chemicals in the world. "Bread from air" was the name researchers Fritz Haber and Carl Bosch gave to their process, which still moves the world today - ammonia synthesis.

During the competition for fertilizers in the Industrial Revolution, it was ultimately again the competition between the major European powers where the land of the "poets and thinkers" opened up a revolution.

Based on research by the biologist Justus von Liebig, nitrogenous fertilizers experienced an incredible boom in demand. Today, this can be compared more with the semiconductor industry.

Natural deposits of such fertilizers were limited. The potential here lay in Chile saltpetre and guano (a mixture of excrement from sea birds, such as penguins on limestone).

So while nowadays people tend to look for dependencies, almost 100 years ago they wanted to limit dependencies.

Ostwald took the first steps and achieved success with synthetic fertilizers with his Ostwald process. Today, however, this process is used more for the production of nitric acid.

Birkeland, a Norwegian, with the support of industrialist Sam Eyde, developed a process for producing nitric acid using an electric arc. However, this was drastically inefficient.

Now let's get to the real issue:

The Germans' drive for self-sufficiency was unbroken. The chemists Fritz Haber and Carl Bosch thus developed a large-scale synthesis based on nitrogen, which makes up almost 80% of the air, and hydrogen. BASF showed great economic interest in this $BAS (-1,63 %) . This not only led to a cooperation. In 1913, the first industrial-scale plant for the production of ammonia was built in Ludwigshafen, with a capacity of 30 t/day, which was enormous at the time.

Due to the First World War and the resulting capacity for explosives, further plants were built in Bitterfeld and Leuna. Incidentally, this construction still represents the basis for the significant chemical industry in Saxony-Anhalt today.

2. "Bread from air" - the process in color.

Conventional production (gray):

To produce ammonia NH3 you need nitrogen N2 and hydrogen H2. Nitrogen can be easily obtained by air injection. Hydrogen was obtained by chlorine-alkali electrolysis. Nowadays, however, hydrogen is primarily produced from natural gas by steam reforming.

After a relatively simple process, you end up with a really nasty, pungent-smelling liquid.

"Green" production:

The "green" production of ammonia differs only slightly from the conventional process.

Since nitrogen is already taken from the air and therefore does not generate any greenhouse gases, CO2 savings are only possible in the production of hydrogen H2.

In this case, hydrogen must be fed directly from water by means of electrolysis. At least this would be the most efficient way, since no further change of state of hydrogen has to be taken into account.

Thus, the process only changes in the production of the raw material "hydrogen". The rest of the synthesis is also carried out here according to the Haber-Bosch process.

3. use - Why is ammonia actually so important for private use?

Ammonia is an important chemical raw material for just about all branches of industry. Already in private use we find it for example in:

- our refrigerator (refrigerant)

- our clothing (dye)

- diesel vehicles for exhaust gas treatment (Adblue as urea solution)

- proteins in the body and in the urea cycle as a degradation product of an endogenous "overdose

4. what does this mean in terms of possible profiteers with regard to an investment?

Of course, we have to ask ourselves the question behind the how, what and why. In general, ammonia can now be counted as part of the energy storage segment, but it receives much less attention in this regard than hydrogen.

The world's largest publicly traded manufacturers are Yara $YAR (+2,71 %) and CF Industries $CF (+1,14 %) Yara, which also produces ammonia itself, but belongs more to the chemicals trade, like Brenntag, as an industry. $BNR (-0,43 %) as an industry. Therefore one is also more crisis-proof in recessionary times. Chemical distributors can issue containers of any size and purchase large batches, thus retaining the difference as a margin. This tends to make customers more willing to buy smaller containers in times of economic uncertainty, thus reducing inventories in the event of a production outage due to lack of demand.

CF Industries, on the other hand, is a "real" producer and has been aiming to produce "green" ammonia since this year.

The tendency now, in terms of advanced processes, is not to feed air because of the better efficiency, but pure nitrogen. In parallel, of course, hydrogen. The manufacturers can usually demonstrate the relevant process expertise themselves, so that dependence on hydrogen suppliers can actually be ruled out. One exception is Linde's engineering division. $LIN represents an exception. They have knowledge of entire hydrogen and ammonia plants. Incidentally, this would also be a further reason against the "small" hype stocks, such as Nel $NEL (+2,78 %) or Plug $PLUG (+10,41 %) from the hydrogen segment and why they are unlikely to catch on. After all, ammonia would be a gigantic consumer for this industry. Nevertheless, ammonia producers are funny low valued on the stock market. P/E ratios average 5. Whereas some shares of the largest hydrogen ETF are valued $HTWO (+2,76 %) are valued at >20, if they can show any profits at all.

One example:

CF-Industries is valued at around €14 billion. Plug Power is still valued at just under €7 billion. That is half. While Plug has been burning money for years and is not even making billions in sales, CF is extremely profitable.

Both are superior in the "clean" energy segment. Yet CF is expected to see its business decline in the coming years. That is inexplicable and illogical, and it certainly won't happen that way.

But where are the growth potentials?

This is really extremely difficult to assess in this area, as the market is largely saturated and divided up.

In general, however, one should really emphasize BASF. Although the closure of ammonia production at the Ludwigshafen site is attributable to the high production costs in Europe, the entire value chain of products in the ammonia sector is largely retained.

In the following, I would now like to take a closer look at some products which, in my opinion, have a high growth potential and are based on ammonia. Due to the growth potential of the following, the ammonia production of the manufacturers should also be stable in the future and gain in importance naturally.

Urea:

Contrary to popular belief, urea is not merely ammonia or a solution of it. It is a chemical compound in its own right and a by-product of ammonia.

With a market share of 46%, urea is the nitrogenous fertilizer par excellence. The trend, of course, is for it to continue to grow as the global population continues to rise. Furthermore, many raw materials of the future will be plant-based. So of course there is considerable growth potential here, too, and a secure, crisis-proof market. People always eat!

3 exemplary representatives: Yara $YAR (+2,71 %) , CF Industries $CF (+1,14 %) , Finished Lobe $FERTIGLB

Nitric Acid:

Nitric acid is probably the best known nitrogenous acid. In high concentrations, however, it is extremely dangerous, since nitrous gases escape, which are toxic and corrosive. It is needed as a base material for explosives such as TNT or nitroglycerine and is therefore essential for the mining sector. Also here Yara can be found again. And no, this is not intended as an advertisement. But they have the majority of the ammoniacal and nitrous production in their own hands and appreciate lucrative business very much.

Off-market sizes in this context are, for example, still SKW Piesteritz GmbH or Staub & Co. and many other medium-sized companies.

Aniline:

Although aniline is only produced in the final stage with ammonia in modern processes, it is still a steady market with growth. Earlier processes involved a complete reaction chain with ammonia. Aniline is a basic material for the production of paints, medicines and artificial rubber, as well as fibers aka synthetic fibers. As a substance, aniline is also the eponym of the largest chemical company BASF $BAS (-1,63 %) which is derived from the original name of the Badic Aniline- and Soda-Fabrik originates.

In addition, however, DuPont $DD (+1,39 %) , Shin-Etsu $4063 (+0,64 %) or Eastman $EMN (+1,35 %) offer many aniline-based products.

6. ammonia as the fuel of the future?:

The purpose behind my contributions is, of course, to communicate energy sources of the future and to focus on diversification.

Solution as fuel alternative:

Since ammonia consists of 75% hydrogen and 25% nitrogen, it is easy to split again with the help of a so-called ammonia cracker. This means that hydrogen can be used to generate energy in a fuel cell, for example, and its efficiency is many times higher than that of hydrogen. Nevertheless, it lags far behind the battery vehicle.

Nevertheless, well-known companies, especially from the heavy-duty transport sector, have come forward to consider ammonia as a solution for the future.

The German Railways wants to convert some of its freight trains to ammonia in order to minimize its diesel fleet.

Also the VW subsidiary $VOW (-0,98 %) , MAN, is working on ammonia-based marine engines.

John Deere $DE (+2,89 %) is also working on such engines for medium-heavy tractors.

7. ammonia as energy storage and what advantages does it have now?

The main focus here is the fact that hydrogen is needed to produce ammonia, but would have to be liquefied in an energy-intensive way for transport.

A brief review: Hydrogen must be cooled to about -250 degrees Celsius for this and compressed to 700 bar.

Ammonia, on the other hand, can be liquefied at 20 degrees Celsius, i.e. room temperature, and at about 8 bar.

The energy input is therefore dramatically lower. In addition, the energy density of ammonia (~3.3 kWh/l) is higher, since hydrogen (~2.2 kWh/l liquid) is chemically bound as an energy carrier in this process, thereby reducing the volume of hydrogen.

Corresponding parameters are taken from the "Formelsammlung" of the Duden publishing house.

In addition to the advantage I described above, that the compression cost of ammonia is much lower than that of hydrogen, there is the fact that ammonia can also be easily stored chemically and stored much more advantageously. For example, ammonia can be converted into a salt, making it very easy to store and transport as a solid. At about 60 degrees Celsius, the given salts decompose and release ammonia.

But even without conversion, ammonia can already be used as a gas, since the infrastructure of the natural gas network would be designed for ammonia. It can be transported by ship, by pipeline, but also in ordinary gas cylinders or gas cartridges.

This is because the structure of ammonia is coarser and larger than that of hydrogen.

What is the general disadvantage of ammonia?

The main disadvantages are the acute health and environmental hazards posed by the substance. In the event of leakage, there would be lasting environmental damage to animals, nature and humans.

Ammonia has only a quarter of the energy of gasoline and only half of that of diesel. Accordingly, it would take twice as much as fossil fuels.

Incomplete combustion, which is also quite common in engines, produces the narcotic and extreme greenhouse gas "laughing gas". Engines must therefore burn extremely efficiently and carefully.

Postscript:

I hope you enjoyed this article.

The next article will look at the chemical processing of lithium. The CO2 balance is interesting, but the focus will be on the fact that the stock market completely misjudges the value chains and the valuations distort the real economic picture.