Dangote awards hydrogen contract for $4B Ethiopia fertiliser plant to Técnicas Reunidas
Dangote Group awarded a contract to Spanish engineering firm Técnicas Reunidas yesterday for hydrogen production equipment for its $4 billion fertiliser plant under development in Gode, Ethiopia's Somali Region. The contract covers design, procurement, manufacturing, and supply of two hydrogen production reformers with combined capacity exceeding 200,000 normal cubic metres per hour, delivered within 18 months. Danish firm Topsoe provides the technology licence. The reformers are critical for ammonia production, the foundation of urea fertiliser manufacturing.
The Gode complex, a 60-40 joint venture between Dangote Group and Ethiopian Investment Holdings, targets three million tonnes of urea annually—positioning it among Africa's largest fertiliser facilities. Once operational, it will use Ethiopia's natural gas resources to produce fertiliser locally, cutting the country's heavy import dependence and exposure to international price swings. The project also aims to strengthen domestic agricultural supply chains and enable exports to neighbouring markets.
This follows Dangote's increased investment from $2.5 billion to over $4 billion, a March 2026 $4.2 billion 25-year natural gas supply deal with China's GCL Group, and an August 2025 $2.5 billion agreement with the Ethiopian government. The plant sits 1,200 kilometres southeast of Addis Ababa.
With Africa's fertiliser demand growing and import bills draining foreign exchange, will Dangote's Ethiopia bet trigger a wave of localised industrial fertiliser production across the continent?