Urea Crisis will Get Worse Before it Gets Better

Article by: Hari Yellina (Orchard Tech)

Currently, trucking representatives say AdBlue taskforce is still unsure of stocks in Australia as Coalition reaches agreement with Incitec Pivot to produce refined urea locally. Australian trucking representatives say a meeting this week between the industry and the federal government over a looming shortage of AdBlue revealed the government does not know how much of the diesel exhaust fluid remains in the country.

It came as the minister for industry, energy and emissions reduction, Angus Taylor, announced a deal with fertiliser manufacturer Incitec Pivot to secure local production of refined urea for the supply of AdBlue. Industry experts welcomed the agreement but feared it had come too late to prevent disruption caused by supply problems, especially in regional and rural areas. Under the new agreement, Incitec Pivot will “rapidly design, trial and, on completion of successful tests, scale-up manufacturing of significant quantities of Technical Grade Granular Urea (TGU), a critical component of AdBlue”.

It comes on top of Australia’s acceptance of Indonesia’s offer to provide 5,000 tonnes of refined urea in January, enough to make a month’s worth of AdBlue. Australia currently has adequate stocks of AdBlue stock on hand, but this agreement with Incitec Pivot will enable domestic production of TGU to ensure current supply chain disruptions don’t impact Australian businesses. It’s going to get worse before it gets better. A department of industry, science, energy and resources spokesperson told Guardian Australia the statement that the government still does not know how much AdBlue is in the country “is incorrect”.

Catherine King, the shadow minister for infrastructure, transport and regional development, wrote an opinion piece on Thursday calling the AdBlue shortage “the crisis we didn’t have to have”. King said the trucking industry has known restrictions placed on the export of urea from China would eventually hit Australia’s AdBlue supply and have been calling for action since early November.