Discussions will commence for the supply, purchase, and sale of ammonia from two of CIP’s ongoing mega-projects - St. Charles in Louisiana and Murchison in Western Australia - to Lotte in South Korea. Meanwhile, Lotte has selected KBR’s synthesis technology for its hydro-ammonia production project in Malaysia.
CCS-based ammonia produced in the USA by Idemitsu, Mitsubishi and Proman is expected to hit the Japanese market by 2030, targeting multiple end uses.
Last month, two Class VI permits were officially issued by the US EPA, allowing WVR to construct two wells for injection and storage of CO2 underground. CCS hydrogen will feed a 500,000 tons per year ammonia plant - a significant percentage of the fertiliser currently used within the USA’s Eastern Corn Belt.
Two new Bills make up a “hydrogen promotion” package submitted to the Japanese parliament. The “Hydrogen Society Promotion Bill”, sets up a framework for awarding subsidies under the GX bonds scheme (a contracts-for-difference program), while the “CCS Business Bill” sets out permitting and monitoring requirements for domestic CCS projects in Japan.
Decarbonization of existing steam methane reforming-based ammonia plants is possible, and changes in gas and heat flows can be recovered via alternative technologies. Recap our workshop in Atlanta, where we discussed the use of upstream methane monitoring equipment, electrolysers, carbon capture, hydrogen burners, energy storage and electric heating to achieve decarbonization of conventional ammonia plants.