The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of Japan have signed financing agreements with AM Green Ammonia (India) to help build one of the world’s largest plants to make ammonia using renewable energy in India.

The investment includes a $100 million loan from the leading Asia’s Private Infrastructure Fund 2, financed by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and administered by ADB.

It will be the first investment under the Action for Creating Energy Security for Long-term Resilience (ACCEL), which was launched in May by ADB and Japan to help countries and businesses in Asia and the Pacific manage rising energy prices and build stronger energy systems for the future.

The project, of AM Green, will convert a former ammonia and urea plant from natural gas fuelled production to renewable-powered green ammonia, with capacity to produce about 1.1 million tonnes per year — supporting a new export industry in India and cleaner production of an ingredient essential to fertiliser and industry, the ADB said.

“Ammonia is used every day to produce fertiliser. This project changes how we make it. By using renewable energy instead of fossil fuels, India can produce it with far lower emissions and at a scale that can help reshape this industry,” ADB President Masato Kanda said.

As the first investment under ACCEL, it also shows how ADB and Japan can turn energy security into practical investments in new markets and jobs, he said.

“Strengthening resilience of Asia’s energy supply chains is essential. Japan is advancing POWERR Asia, including through ACCEL and I welcome the first joint project under ACCEL,” Japan’s Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama said.

ACCEL initiative works on two tracks - first, supporting corporate liquidity in the short term, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises; and second, supporting a transition toward more diversified and sustainable energy systems in the medium to long term. Japan supports ACCEL through its Japan-financed and ADB-administered trust funds and through collaboration with Japanese development finance institutions, including JICA and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), to maximise development impact.