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Considering the challenges to decarbonize different hard-to-abate industries, a technical and economic study on fertilizer production was performed. The research was carried on decentralized energy systems and its coupling with a nitrogen fertilizer production plant. The project is developed in collaboration with NitroCapt AB, a cleantech startup that has introduced a new process cycle to produce sustainable nitrogen fertilizers using air, water and renewable electricity. The power supply of a 10 MW fertilizer plant has been evaluated at different locations. Multiple combinations of solar, wind, hydro and geothermal power have been studied for the hybrid renewable energy sources (HRES) production. 

The assessment of the energy production in every location is calculated based on mathematical models and power profiles are generated. From the resulting profiles, simulations were performed for different renewable energy capacities and battery sizes. Optimum energy systems designs are determined for the four locations. The optimal production is different depending on the weather conditions and technologies used in different scenarios. The production for a 10 MW plant varies between 2739 tons and 3380 tons of fertilizer per year, for the hydro plus solar case and the geothermal plus solar system, respectively. In addition, sensitivity analysis is performed on the fertilizer plant capacity factor with various battery energy storage capacities, and the impact of the battery cost and the interest rate on the profitability of the project. The results show that the energy storage system not only ensures low electricity costs, but also provides enough flexibility and responsiveness to realize a viable fertilizer plant with an intermittent supply. Moreover, the process range flexibility allows to allocate more variable energy into the process.