CF Industries and POSCO Holdings are evaluating a joint venture to build a low-carbon clean ammonia plant at CF Industries’ Blue Point Complex in Ascension Parish, Louisiana.
As part of this, the ammonia producer and steelmaker will look to implement autothermal reforming (ATR) ammonia production technology.
When combined with carbon capture and sequestration (CCS), ATR technology is expected to reduce CO2 emissions from the ammonia production process my more than 90%.
Read more: Green ammonia at scale: Will the ammonia economy overtake the hydrogen economy?
Work related to ATR tech will be carried out under a front-end engineering and design (FEED) study. The FEED study is expected to be completed in the second half of 2024, with a final investment decision to follow.
In addition to the plant development, CF Industries and POSCO will also evaluate the possibility of shipping the produced project to South Korea to support the decarbonisation of POSCO’s own and third-party coal-based power generation facilities.
POSCO also intends to convert the low-carbon clean ammonia into hydrogen for use in its gas-based power plants and the steel-making process.
Read more: Green iron and steel: A diversity of routes to decarbonisation
Tony Will, President and CEO of CF Industries, said that POSCO’s plans to use low-carbon ammonia to accelerate decarbonisation in steel manufacturing and power generation in South Korea represents new demand for low-carbon ammonia as a clean energy source.
CF Industries typically produces between 9.5 and 10 million tonnes of ammonia annually at its manufacturing facilities.
Yoo Byeong-ok, Chief Green Materials & Energy Business Officer at POSCO, notes the US as one of the key strategic regions for POSCO Group as it is actively pursuing an economical and reliable overseas hydrogen and ammonia supply network through the IRA support policy.
Read more: Hydrogen and US public policy
He continued, “We plan to establish a production hub for clean ammonia in the US in collaboration with CF Industries, and secure a stable supply network to timely provide clean hydrogen necessary for domestic power generation and hydrogen reduction steelmaking.”
CO2 Summit 2023
Shortages and sourcing challenges are the headline stories everyone’s talking about in CO2 supply. But the whole carbon dioxide value chain is transforming – as this story itself demonstrates.
Applications are not only emerging and evolving but demanding more of the industry and its sourcing too. That calls for new thinking in CO2 storage and distribution, but it also raises questions over the tracking and management of supply chains. How we see CO2 is changing, shifting from waste disposal to a value chain in its own right. This will see the tonnage utilisation of CO2 evolve beyond recognition.
Join gasworld this September as our North American CO2 Summit 2023 assesses the threats, challenges and opportunities ahead in carbon dioxide – how we find it, source it, purify it and deliver it. Learn about the changing face of CO2; the opportunities in direct air capture (DAC); supply chain strategies; carbon credits and legislation; and so much more.
Tickets are selling fast and sold-out early last year, so book your place now. For more information and how to attend, visit https://gasworldconferences.com/conference/north-american-co2-summit-2023-indianapolis/
