MUSCAT: Indian renewable energy developer ACME Group believes its expanding portfolio of long-term green fuel export agreements will create strategic synergies between its projects in India and Oman, as the company advances construction of its flagship green ammonia project at the Special Economic Zone at Duqm (SEZAD).
The latest milestone follows the signing of two major export agreements under India’s National Green Hydrogen Mission, further strengthening ACME’s position as one of the first developers globally to secure long-term commercial offtake for green hydrogen derivatives.
Under the first agreement, ACME will jointly develop a 405,000 tonnes per annum (TPA) green ammonia project in the Indian state of Odisha to supply to IHI Corporation of Japan for distribution in the Japanese market.
The project has also been selected under the Japanese government’s Contract for Difference (CfD) programme, administered by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), which provides financial support to enable long-term imports of low-carbon ammonia into Japan.
Separately, the company has signed a 10-year agreement with Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Company (MGC) to supply 100,000 TPA of green methanol from its Paradip facility in eastern India. The green methanol will be produced to comply with European Renewable Fuels of Non-Biological Origin (RFNBO) requirements and the International Maritime Organization’s standards for low-carbon marine fuels, supporting the decarbonisation of the global shipping industry.
The agreements build on ACME’s earlier achievement of securing long-term green ammonia offtake from its Oman project, reinforcing the developer’s strategy of establishing an integrated international production and export platform.
Speaking to the Observer, Gursharan Jassal, Country Head of ACME Oman, said the company’s projects in Oman and India should be viewed as complementary elements of a broader global strategy rather than as standalone developments.
While each project has been structured independently, they have the potential to benefit from shared logistics, diversified export routes and access to multiple international demand centres, particularly for green ammonia, he said.
Such an integrated approach would strengthen supply chain resilience while enhancing ACME’s ability to serve growing demand across Asia, Europe and other emerging green fuel markets, he said.
According to Jassal, the latest agreements with Japanese companies reflect growing international confidence in ACME’s green hydrogen platform and demonstrated increasing market acceptance of commercially scalable green fuel projects.
At Duqm, construction is progressing across multiple components of ACME’s integrated green ammonia project, spanning renewable energy generation, hydrogen production facilities and export infrastructure.
Phase 1 is designed to produce 100,000 TPA of green ammonia.
The first phase will be powered by a 450 MWAC solar photovoltaic plant supported by an 800 MWh battery energy storage system (BESS), with no wind generation planned at this stage.
Site preparation, engineering, procurement and construction activities are advancing steadily and will provide the renewable electricity required for green hydrogen production, said Jassal.
Development of the project’s dedicated export jetty is also progressing on schedule. Engineering and marine works are being undertaken in close coordination with the relevant authorities, with emphasis on safety, design integrity and readiness for future ammonia exports.
Production from the first phase has already been fully allocated under existing offtake commitments, leaving no surplus green molecules for domestic use.
However, ACME is evaluating opportunities for local consumption during subsequent expansion phases, subject to market demand, infrastructure availability and the evolution of Oman’s regulatory framework.
Potential applications include supplying emerging industrial sectors and supporting the development of downstream green hydrogen derivatives within the Sultanate of Oman, he added.
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