He said that on achieving a production rate of five metric tonnes per annum (MTPA), AM Green would clock annual revenues of $4 billion and Ebitda of $1.6 billion. He also said AM Green Molecules would produce 0.5 MTPA of in-situ green hydrogen, 1 MTPA of green e-methanol, 1.5 MTPA of green caustic soda and green chlorine, and various high-value downstream chemicals by 2030. Edited excerpts.

Congratulations! What does this deal mean for the green-energy transitions of India and OECD countries?

Thank you. This transaction marks a humble beginning for our cutting-edge energy-transition platform and is a strong validation of our conviction and vision to decarbonize various industries and hard-to-abate sectors such as refineries, fertilisers, chemicals, steel, aluminium and so on, not only in India but also in various OECD markets as well. As indicated in our press release, our platform will produce 20% of India’s green-hydrogen target and 10% of Europe’s green-hydrogen import target by 2030.

Our sizable capacity of green molecules will play a crucial role in decarbonising India’s industrial sector and will also travel to various OECD markets such as Germany to decarbonise the power sector, various other European markets for for fertiliser, to Japan for co-firing alongside coal, and for use as bunkering fuel (for ships), among others. As such, we are well on our way to helping accelerate the net-zero goals of India and various other global markets.

Going forward, will there be more equity dilution from the promoters in AM Green Ammonia Holdings?

Our AM Green Ammonia platform is fully funded to produce 5 MTPA of green ammonia. We do not anticipate a need to dilute or raise more equity for AM Green Ammonia in the foreseeable future.

Has the debt portion for the overall $5.5 billion investment to produce five million tonnes of green ammonia a year been firmed up?

We have been speaking to various international and domestic lenders to firm up debt for our AM Green Ammonia platform and have received very favourable feedback, given our strong control over the renewable-power input cost (fixed for 25 years, this accounts for about 70% of the cost of producing green ammonia) and electrolyser cost through our joint venture with John Cockerill of Belgium.

In addition, we have signed a binding green-ammonia purchase and sale term sheet with a very reputable customer in Germany and are in the process of announcing various incremental similar term sheets in the near future.

All these factors along with the fully equity funded status of our platform more or less ensures certainty of debt financing at attractive terms. We will start construction of our first ammonia plant next week and will finalise debt financing for it then.

Which entities in South Korea, Japan, Singapore and Germany will import green ammonia, and what are the annual turnover and profit projections for AM Green Ammonia Holdings?

We are in late-stage discussion with large and very reputable buyers of green ammonia in South Korea, Singapore, Japan, Germany, and various other global markets. Upon achieving 5 MTPA green ammonia production, we will be at about $4 billion on a top-line basis and about $1.6 billion on Ebitda run rate.

Are there any plans to list AM Green Ammonia Holdings?

We are not thinking of a public listing. Our focus is on creating a long-term, value-accretive green-molecules platform using our entrepreneurial mindset, our innovative business model, and our strong regulatory and execution capabilities. We have access to among the lowest-priced carbon-free round-the-clock power, assured and cost-competitive access to electrolysers, access to strategically located land near international ports, and a highly capable team. Thanks to these factors and others, we are well positioned to claim and consolidate a position at the forefront of large-scale competitive solutions to decarbonise industries and economies around the world.

What are the plans for AM Green Technology & Solutions and AM Green Molecules? Will there be any equity-stake dilution and are you talking to investors about this?

AM Green Molecules will produce about 0.5 MTPA of in-situ green hydrogen by 2030 to support replacement of fossil fuels and fossil fuel-based feedstock with green hydrogen, in line with the goals of National Green Hydrogen Mission of the Indian government.

This subsidiary will also produce about 1 MTPA of green e-methanol and 1.5 MTPA of green caustic soda, green chlorine and various high-value downstream chemicals by 2030 to enable deep decarbonization of various hard-to-abate sectors such as bunkering fuel, chemicals, steel and aluminium that traditionally rely on oil- and gas-derived products.

AM Green Technology & Solutions will house the joint venture between AM Green and John Cockerill, Belgium, to manufacture electrolysers in India in alignment with the goals of the National Green Hydrogen Mission. This subsidiary will supply about 6.5 GWs of electrolysers to AMG Ammonia by 2030.

We will plan equity raises for these subsidiaries and for AM Green International at an appropriate time.

What are your plans for setting up a global storage and renewable business?

With our AM Green international subsidiary we are fairly advanced in setting up an international renewables, storage and molecules business in places such as North America and Europe. The goal is to have a sizable renewables and storage business including solar, wind, pumped hydro, and battery storage, as well as a green-molecules business. In these international markets, we are not only looking to decarbonise industrial sectors but also various data centres, which represent a significant and growing source of carbon emissions.

With the pure-play renewable energy business becoming passé, what are the current focus areas in India for global investors?

Most global investors face strong pressure from internal and external stakeholders to deploy significant sums towards energy-transition and climate-change technologies. Renewables historically helped such investors meet their targets, but the investing community has started to realise that pure-play renewables don’t really help decarbonize industries and hard-to-abate sectors that are the main contributors of carbon emissions.

As such, a significant portion of future investment is aligned with long-duration storage and production of green molecules such as green hydrogen, green ammonia, green methanol, green caustic soda and various high-value downstream chemicals. These will drive the next level of deep decarbonisation and an acceleration towards net-zero targets for India and various OECD markets.

Having said that, we think strategic investor groups will play a significant role in the green molecules space over the next couple of years since it is a high-risk and high-return business that they understand and can align themselves to. Financial investors may struggle to justify an investment in this space due to a lack of 15- to 20-year offtake agreements, as is the case with pure-play renewables. As such, significant deployment of financial capital might wait until the risks in the green-molecules space are well-understood.