More ammonia energy giants head for the Gulf Coast
By on February 13, 2023
RWE, LOTTE, Mitsubishi
The trio will join forces to jointly develop a large-scale clean ammonia production & export project in the Port of Corpus Christi, Texas. The production facility will be integrated, with “green” and “blue” ammonia both produced onsite and exported using shared infrastructure. First production is scheduled for 2030, with a multi-phase development process eventually resulting in multiple production “units” and 10 million tonnes per year production capacity. Asia or Europe will be the focus for ammonia exports.
Three key players
Mitsubishi is currently engaged in commercialising key technologies (eg. ammonia-fired industrial boilers and bunkering vessels), and also is a shareholder in PT Panca Amara Utama, an Indonesian ammonia producer currently exploring the possibility of CCS ammonia in Sulawesi. LOTTE Chemical is a founding member of the Korean Clean Ammonia Alliance, is demonstrating Syzygy Plasmonics’ photocatalytic cracking technology at its Ulsan manufacturing facility, exploring hydroelectric ammonia production in Malaysia, and intends to own or part-own the production of 1.2 million tonnes of clean hydrogen annually by 2030. Late last year, RWE secured off-take for 300,000 tonnes per year of renewable ammonia, to be shipped from Namibia to its under-construction import terminal in Brunsbüttel, Germany, starting in 2026.
Linde
Late last year, OCI announced it had broken ground on its new world-scale CCS ammonia plant in Beaumont, Texas. In an update this week, Linde will build, own and operate an on-site complex at Beaumont for the production of CCS hydrogen & nitrogen feedstock, including autothermal reforming with carbon capture, and an air separation plant. Linde will also connect the new plant with its extensive Gulf Coast pipeline infrastructure, allowing it to supply other projects. Gas feedstock production will start in 2025.
Our strategy is to support decarbonization by working with off-takers, like OCI, to safely and reliably supply low-carbon industrial gases at scale. With Linde’s track record in successfully executing complex projects, its extensive pipeline network, and support from the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act, the company is well positioned to secure many more clean energy projects.
Linde CEO Sanjiv Lamba in his organisation’s official press release, 6 Feb 2023