CF Industries and NextEra team up for a renewable ammonia joint venture
By on May 05, 2023
CF Industries Holdings and NextEra Energy will develop a renewable hydrogen project at CF Industries’ existing Verdigris Complex in Oklahoma. The project would comprise a jointly owned 100 MW electrolysis plant powered by a NextEra-developed 450 MW renewable energy facility, with CF Industries acting as the sole offtaker of the renewable hydrogen feedstock.
CF expects the site would subsequently produce up to 100,000 tonnes of renewable ammonia annually. The resulting ammonia would help transition US agriculture to zero-carbon fertilisers, enabling the elimination of up to 130,000 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide from the domestic agricultural supply chain per year.
The proposed project is part of the funding application submitted to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) by the HALO Hydrogen Hub, a consortium of Arkansas, Louisiana and Oklahoma-based stakeholders established to compete for funding from the DOE’s Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs Program. The $7 billion funding initiative, part of the Inflation Reduction Act, plans to create regional clean hydrogen hubs across the USA, and will fund 6-10 hubs, accounting for technological pathways, use cases and geographical locations. Last month we explored another hydrogen hub anchor project: the 2 million tonnes per year Adams Fork Energy clean ammonia project in West Virginia.
CF Industries continues opportunities, enabled by strong policy incentives for clean ammonia production in the US and beyond. In February this year, the company announced a joint project with Lotte Chemical to produce both CCS-based and renewable ammonia for export to the Asian market.
The use of decarbonized ammonia in agriculture offers the most certain, quantifiable and verifiable way to reduce the lifecycle carbon footprint of the food we eat. We are pleased to work with NextEra Energy Resources to explore how best green hydrogen could help accelerate the adoption of low- and zero-carbon ammonia and ammonia-derived nitrogen fertilizers in the United States and contribute to decarbonizing the agriculture supply chain.
Tony Will, CF Industries President and CEO in NextEra’s official press release, 24 April 2023
NextEra Energy Resources is committed to leading the decarbonization of the American economy, and the agriculture industry is fundamental to that goal. We are honored to work with CF Industries to bring green hydrogen production to its Verdigris Complex while also creating additional jobs and economic benefits for the state of Oklahoma.
Rebecca Kujawa, NextEra President and CEO in her organisation’s official press release, 24 April 2023