CF Industries Holdings Inc., Deerfield, Ill., on Oct. 29 announced major steps to support a global hydrogen and clean fuel economy, including the production of green and low-carbon ammonia.
CF will add an initial green ammonia project at the company’s flagship Donaldsonville Nitrogen Complex to produce approximately 20,000 st/y of green ammonia. CF President and CEO Tony Will said the price tag was $100 million in an interview with Bloomberg. The cost of the initial project is expected to fit within the company’s annual capital expenditure budget, which has ranged from $400-$450 million per year.
In addition, CF is developing carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) and other carbon abatement projects across its production facilities. CF said the implementation of these projects will enable the company to produce low-carbon ammonia. The company estimates that over time it could produce approximately 3.5 million st of low-carbon ammonia per year, which represents about one-third of its annual ammonia production capacity, without affecting its current product mix.
“The world needs clean energy, and hydrogen is a key to meeting this need,” said Will. “Low-carbon ammonia is the critical enabler for storage and transport of hydrogen and thus has a major role to play. Today’s commitment to decarbonize the world’s largest ammonia production network positions CF Industries at the forefront of clean hydrogen supply. Due to our unparalleled manufacturing and distribution network, our competitive advantage in producing low-carbon ammonia at scale is measured in terms of years and billions of dollars.
“Our existing scale and commitment to produce green and low-carbon ammonia establishes CF Industries as the clear leader in providing clean fuels for a sustainable world, while also providing a growth platform to drive long-term shareholder value,” he added.
The company said it has comprehensive Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) goals, covering critical environmental, societal, and workforce imperatives, including a dramatic reduction in carbon emissions across its global network. It expects a 25 percent reduction in CO2e emissions intensity by 2030, and net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Executive compensation will be tied directly to ESG goals.
CF produced 18.3 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions in 2019, according to Bloomberg, citing CF’s latest annual report.
In order to execute these initiatives, CF said it is collaborating with leading technology companies, and has signed Memorandums of Understanding with ThyssenKrupp and Haldor Topsoe. It is also in discussions with global utilities and maritime transportation providers that have announced their intention to use low-carbon ammonia directly as a fuel.
In addition, the CF Board of Directors has established a new committee, the Environmental Sustainability and Community Committee, to oversee all aspects of the progress toward net-zero carbon emissions and the company’s active involvement in the communities in which it operates.
CF noted that hydrogen and ammonia are expected to be critical contributors to achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. It said experts project that hydrogen will meet approximately 20 percent of the world’s energy need by 2050, up from less than 1 percent today. Ammonia, which is composed of three-parts hydrogen and one-part nitrogen, is a transport and storage mechanism for hydrogen, as well as a fuel.