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    JERA to off-take 500K tons Ammonia from CF co-firing project beginning 2027

    Jan. 18, 2023
    It will be co-fired with coal at JERA's Hekinan Thermal Power Station in Japan to cut CO2 emissions from the facility as ammonia does not emit CO2 when combuste
    Image credit JERA
    Jera Ammonia 63c80d26bc1b9

    U.S.-based ammonia producer CF Industries Holdings has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Japanese power generator JERA to supply up to 500,000 metric tons per year of clean ammonia beginning in 2027.

    The clean ammonia will be produced with at least 60% lower carbon emissions than conventionally produced ammonia, CF Industries says. It will be co-fired with coal at  to cut CO2 emissions from the facility as ammonia does not emit CO2 when combusted.

    JERA has already completed an ammonia co-firing pilot test and is set to begin a demonstration project at the Hekinan power plant during its fiscal year 2023.

    “We look forward to helping JERA and Japan meet its clean ammonia requirements, which represent the first significant volume of what we believe will be substantial global demand for clean ammonia as a clean energy source,” Tony Will, President and Chief Executive Officer of CF Industries Holdings, said in a statement.

    Ammonia has been commercially produced for more than 100 years, used in the fertilizer and household products sectors. It can be created from hydrogen and nitrogen via processing of natural gas.

    Some recent considerations for ammonia use includes adapting it as an energy carrier along with hydrogen.

    Under the MoU, the two companies expect to assess a range of potential supply options, such as a supplementary long-term offtake agreement from CF Industries’ Donaldsonville Complex in Louisiana and an equity investment alongside CF Industries to build a greenfield clean ammonia facility in Louisiana.

    “JERA will continue its own efforts as well as to take hands with our partners in pursuit of our endeavor to realize and accelerate not only the decarbonization of the Japanese energy industry but also to solve the energy-related issues that the world is facing,” JERA Corporate Vice President Yukio Kani said in a statement.

    CF Industries has been working on projects to decarbonize its ammonia production network and supply clean ammonia in the near future. This includes using carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) at its Donaldsonville Complex to capture and permanently store up to 2 million tons of CO2 per year, set to start in 2025.

    The company is also studying the construction of a new facility using CCS in Ascension Parish, Louisiana. Additionally, it is building North America’s first commercial scale green ammonia capacity at the Donaldsonville Complex, with a production capacity of 20,000 tons starting in 2024.

    JERA is a joint venture between Japanese electric power companies TEPCO Fuel & Power and Chubu Electric Power, and produces about 30% of all electricity in Japan.

    About the Author

    EnergyTech Staff

    Rod Walton is senior editor for EnergyTech.com. He has spent 14 years covering the energy industry as a newspaper and trade journalist.

    Walton formerly was energy writer and business editor at the Tulsa World. Later, he spent six years covering the electricity power sector for Pennwell and Clarion Events. He joined Endeavor and EnergyTech in November 2021.

    He can be reached at [email protected]. 

    EnergyTech is focused on the mission critical and large-scale energy users and their sustainability and resiliency goals. These include the commercial and industrial sectors, as well as the military, universities, data centers and microgrids.

    Many large-scale energy users such as Fortune 500 companies, and mission-critical users such as military bases, universities, healthcare facilities, public safety and data centers, shifting their energy priorities to reach net-zero carbon goals within the coming decades. These include plans for renewable energy power purchase agreements, but also on-site resiliency projects such as microgrids, combined heat and power, rooftop solar, energy storage, digitalization and building efficiency upgrades.