Rethinking due diligence From risk-aversion to enhancing value
Climate, compliance and resilience
Bridging the gap between sustainability and reliability
The benefits go well beyond cost. The system’s carbon intensity is estimated at just 3 g CO₂/KWh, up to 150 times lower than natural gas³. And unlike fossil-based systems, this solution recovers water vapour from combustion, offering up to one-third water reuse potential in drought-prone regions. As data centres expand into remote, arid or grid- constrained areas, these advantages matter. Ammonia offers a path to resilient, modular power without reliance on pipelines, permits or centralised infrastructure. Addressing adoption risks Like any emerging solution, ammonia faces perceived barriers: capex, safety, regulation. But the industrial ammonia supply chain is already well-established, and advancements in green hydrogen production are reducing costs and improving system safety. Pilot projects in Europe and Japan have already validated ammonia-powered generators in commercial settings. Policy support is also growing. National and regional regulators are now offering incentives for green ammonia production, infrastructure co-investment and early- stage innovation partnerships⁴ ⁵.
The overlooked opportunity Ammonia is well known in petrochemical, agriculture and heavy industry circles, but its application to data centres is still nascent. For operators, the opportunity is not just decarbonisation, it is leadership. Green ammonia offers a way to design for resilience, signal climate alignment and unlock community and investor confidence. They also support grid flexibility, allowing data centres to reduce peak load stress and decouple from energy market volatility. This isn’t just about technology. It’s about autonomy - energy systems that respond to internal demand, not external disruption. The real value of ammonia lies in bridging the tension between sustainability and uptime. Diesel and gas systems offer reliability, but at a climate cost. Renewables offer clean power, but intermittently. Ammonia-powered systems close that gap, offering dispatchable backup power during outages or demand spikes while enabling fully off-grid operation where needed.
Investment decisions related to energy infrastructure projects are usually driven by one overarching and crucial question: What could go wrong?
Thomas Evans, Origination Leader Commercial Advisory
But the most forward-looking businesses and investors in the space find they can unlock more long-term deal value by putting equal emphasis on another question: What could go right? By making a systematic evaluation of opportunities as well as risks, it’s possible to turn defence into attack. Whether projects involve solar or wind power, battery energy storage, energy from waste or circular chemicals, due diligence becomes a strategic tool for unlocking value, opening pathways to higher ROI and fueling growth. This more forward-looking approach doesn’t replace the vital work of kicking a project’s tyres for potential problems. Instead, it enhances it, allowing investment committees to make decisions based on a more holistic picture of an infrastructure opportunity. Let’s first look at how a typical risk-focused due diligence process works. For investors, the primary goal of due diligence has traditionally been to identify possible red flags, such as technical or commercial risks, that would enable them to negotiate a price reduction or withdraw from a deal altogether. It’s
also an important box to tick for investors with environmental compliance mandates. Consider, for example, a solar farm: Investors would want to investigate any issues with the project’s grid connectivity or risks associated with its planning permission. They might also examine whether the appropriate commercial contracts are in place with buyers for the energy they plan to generate. While the exact risks will vary according to the specific assets involved, every project typically raises technical, environmental, market and delivery issues that must be thoroughly evaluated and presented to investors. Just as a prospective homebuyer would never move forward on a purchase without first checking the house’s roof and plumbing, this type of due diligence is a vital baseline for investors because it exposes the cost implications of any risks and tells them what it could take to mitigate them. Where it falls short, however, is in providing a complete picture of a project’s potential. By getting only half the story, businesses and investors can’t make fully informed decisions.
The bottom line
Data centres power our digital lives. But to meet the future, they’ll need to power themselves - cleanly, securely and sustainably. 160% US$50B $128MWh Estimated Breakdown: 60% natural gas / 40% renewables Levelised cost of electricity (LCOE) now:
Green ammonia offers a way forward: a renewable, storable, scalable fuel that aligns uptime with decarbonisation. The technology is here. The use case is clear. And for data centres ready to lead, the transition has already begun.
650 250MW
TWh of added demand on US systems, accounting for 8% of total national electricity consumption
projected growth in U.S. data centre electricity usage by 2030
in new power generation needed
3g CO₂/KWh Benefits: through 1/3 water reuse; 150x lower than natural gas renewables (solar + wind) + 140 MW electrolysis = 80 MW data centre Annual surplus: 278 GWh; shortfall: 88 GWh
$60/MWh projected
3. Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA), Briefing note - Green hydrogen incentives and ammonia - June 2024.pdf 4. Reuters, Germany awards tender to Fertiglobe for green ammonia from Egypt | Reuters. 2024. 5. Reuters, Germany awards tender to Fertiglobe for green ammonia from Egypt. 2024. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/germany-awards-tender-fertiglobe-green-ammonia-egypt-2024-07-11/
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