Nutrien Ltd. (Saskatoon, Canada) announced that it is evaluating Geismar, LA as the site to build the world’s largest clean ammonia facility. Building on the company’s expertise in low-carbon ammonia production, clean ammonia will be manufactured using innovative technology to achieve at least a 90 percent reduction in CO2 emissions. The project will proceed to the front-end engineering design (FEED) phase, with a final investment decision expected to follow in 2023. If approved, construction of the approximately US$2 billion facility would begin in 2024 with full production expected by 2027.
The new clean ammonia plant would leverage low-cost natural gas, tidewater access to world markets, and high-quality carbon capture and sequestration infrastructure at its existing Geismar, LA facility to serve growing demand in agriculture, industrial and emerging energy markets. The plant is expected to have an annual production capacity of 1.2 million metric tonnes of clean ammonia and capture at least 90 percent of CO2 emissions, permanently sequestering more than 1.8 million metric tonnes of CO2 in dedicated geological storage per annum. The new plant will use auto thermal reforming technology to achieve the lowest carbon footprint of any plant at this scale and has the potential to transition to net-zero emissions with future modifications.
“Our commitment to the development and use of both low-carbon and clean ammonia is prominent in our strategy to provide solutions that will help meet the world’s decarbonization goals, while sustainably addressing global food insecurity. Leadership in clean ammonia production will play a key role in achieving our 2030 Scope 1 and 2 emissions reduction goals, as part of our Feeding the Future Plan,” said Ken Seitz, Nutrien’s Interim President and CEO.
Nutrien has signed a term sheet with Denbury Inc., a trusted partner for nearly a decade, that would allow for expansion of the existing volume of carbon sequestration capability in the immediate vicinity of its Geismar facility, if selected as the final site of construction.
“Nutrien is optimally positioned to supply global emerging clean ammonia markets and grow a pathway for a decarbonized supply chain,” said Raef Sully, Nutrien’s Executive Vice President and CEO of Nitrogen and Phosphate. “We are pleased to partner with Denbury on this initiative given our established track record of cooperation. It is another example of how we are building on our expertise in low-carbon ammonia to decarbonize the agriculture industry while helping to sustainably feed and fuel the future.”
Nutrien has also signed a Letter of Intent to collaborate with Mitsubishi Corporation for offtake of up to 40 percent of expected production from the plant to deliver to the Asian fuel market, including Japan, once construction is complete.
Nutrien is committed to leading the development of low carbon and clean ammonia to rapidly accelerate the decarbonization of hard-to-abate sectors such as agriculture, industrial use of ammonia, power generation, and maritime fuel. As one of the world’s largest ammonia traders by marine transportation, Nutrien announced in 2021 a collaboration agreement with EXMAR to jointly develop and build one of the first low-carbon, ammonia-fueled maritime vessels to help decarbonize shipping. Nutrien is also involved with the US Department of Energy and other partners to explore flexible clean ammonia production using air, water and variable renewable electricity.