AEA launches global Ammonia Certification System with MiQ to accelerate the adoption of clean ammonia

WASHINGTON, April 27, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The Ammonia Energy Association (AEA) has partnered with MiQ to launch the AEA Ammonia Certification System, a global certification system designed to facilitate the transparent, trusted international trade of low-emission ammonia.

The AEA Ammonia Certification System is a voluntary system open to all entities in the ammonia value chain. It supports alignment across regions and sectors, allowing producers, traders, and consumers to demonstrate key environmental attributes – namely carbon footprint and origin – using independently verified data.

The system entered its pilot phase in October 2025, with the publication of documentation (available online at ammoniaenergy.org/certification) and the launch of a global registry to manage the generation, transfer, and retirement of certificates. Early pilot participants are now preparing their initial audits, before the first certificates can be generated. The pilot remains open to additional participants.

The AEA Ammonia Registry, built and operated by MiQ, provides participants with a digital infrastructure that enables secure data transfer, transparency, and traceability across the ammonia supply chain at scale. Building on MiQ's market-proven global leadership in methane emissions certification, this collaboration reflects MiQ's broader mission to accelerate rapid reductions in methane emissions from the oil and gas sector, while supporting the AEA to help shape the future of ammonia as a clean energy solution. This collaboration marks the first time MiQ's independently verified data and certification registry model has been applied beyond natural gas.

Georges Tijbosch, MiQ CEO, said "Today's announcement demonstrates the power of independent, third-party certification to deliver real emissions reductions across the supply chain. MiQ certification is market proven – and we are delighted to partner with the AEA to bring our trusted data and registry expertise to low-emission ammonia trade worldwide."

Vibeke Rasmussen, AEA President and SVP Product Management & Certification, Yara Clean Ammonia, said "In keeping with the AEA's vision that 'Clean ammonia energizes the future,' how do you convince the end-users of clean ammonia that the molecules are truly clean? The AEA's certification system provides proof that the environmental attributes of the ammonia produced are transparent, reliable, and trusted. Certification is key to the growth of the clean ammonia market."

The pilot phase of the Ammonia Certification System encompasses:

• Pre-certification of facilities that have not yet been built. Pre-certification provides project developers with a credible evaluation of the environmental attributes of future production, to support offtake and financing discussions.
• Certification of ammonia produced at facilities that are already operational. This enables full disclosure to the consumer of the environmental attributes of ammonia and supports demonstration of compliance with regional or global requirements for emission reductions.
• A global ammonia registry to enable the secure transfer of certificates across the value chain, from generation, through trading, to retirement. The pilot supports three distinct chain of custody models — Segregated, Mass Balance, and Book & Claim.

Nicholas Cook, AEA Technical Committee Chair and Product Stewardship Manager, CF Industries, said "Ammonia customers need to be able to trust the claims of those producing and trading low-carbon product. AEA's Ammonia Certification System and MiQ's central registry provide quality data, with a fully formed chain of custody model, that allows for global certification."

Trevor Brown, AEA Executive Director, said "To scale up and speed up the adoption of clean ammonia, market participants need high quality and credible data – rigorous accounting of actual carbon footprints – but we also need interoperability with different systems, to help align the requirements of voluntary and compliance markets across multiple sectors and countries. Our pilot participants will be demonstrating this in the year ahead, including participating plants in the Americas, Europe, and Asia-Pacific, which will be using various pathways, including electrolysis, natural gas with CCS, and other technologies to supply certified ammonia to consumers in multiple sectors."

To join the pilot of the Ammonia Certification System, interested parties are invited to review the documentation at ammoniaenergy.org/certification or contact the AEA at [email protected].  

Interested parties that are not directly participating in the ammonia value chain but seek to understand the AEA's Ammonia Certification System and its potential alignment with other voluntary or regulatory frameworks are also welcome to inquire about joining the pilot as an observer.

AEA and MiQ presented the system and registry on Tuesday, March 24, at a Lyceum Lab session during CERA Week, in Houston, Texas. The AEA's Ammonia Certification System will also be presented at the following global events in the coming months:

• World Hydrogen 2026 Summit, Rotterdam, Netherlands, May 19-21
• Ammonia Energy APAC 2026, Brisbane, Australia, June 15-17
• 5^th Symposium on Ammonia Energy, Santiago, Chile, September 28-30
• AEA Annual Conference 2026, Houston, USA, November 9-11

About the Ammonia Energy Association (AEA):
The AEA was founded in 2004 with a mission to accelerate the responsible adoption of clean ammonia by promoting cross-sectoral collaboration, knowledge sharing, global standards, and supportive policies. This mission supports both the decarbonization of ammonia production and the use of low-emission ammonia as a fuel and energy carrier. The AEA is a global trade association whose 200+ members represent the full value chain of ammonia across multiple sectors. For more information visit https://ammoniaenergy.org/.

About MiQ:
MiQ is a global leader in methane emissions certification and data. Our mission is to accelerate the transition to lower emissions gas by providing a credible and transparent certification system that drives regulatory compliance, incentivizes continuous improvement, and ensures methane accountability in the oil and gas sector throughout the entire supply chain. For more information visit https://miq.org/

Note to editors:

Ammonia is one of the most abundant molecules on earth and is both naturally occurring and man-made. It is a vital product, already applied as a nitrogen fertilizer and leveraged in various industrial and consumer applications. It is quickly emerging as a zero-carbon fuel and energy carrier.

To support the adoption of ammonia in energy applications, the AEA has been working since 2021 to develop the AEA Ammonia Certification System, which aims to enable differentiation in the marketplace for low-emission ammonia, enhance credibility throughout the supply chain, facilitate cross-border trade, and support alignment between multiple certification schemes, standards, and regulations.

The key design principles of the AEA Ammonia Certification System include:

• Technology neutral, inclusive of all production pathways (fossil, renewable, bio, etc.).
• Absolute GHG emissions, site-specific, measured not modelled.
• Well-to-gate boundary, including upstream emissions.
• Tradeable, facilitating transfers of low-emission ammonia certificates.
• Regular audits by independent, accredited certification bodies provide assurance.

For more information on the Ammonia Certification System, to view AEA's webinar "Unpacking the AEA's Ammonia Certification System," to view MiQ's video walkthrough of the AEA Ammonia Registry, or to learn how to join the pilot, please visit ammoniaenergy.org/certification or contact the AEA at [email protected].  

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2965358/AEA_MiQ_Logo.jpg

SOURCE MiQ; AEA