Nutrien Ltd. on Oct. 26 announced the selection of thyssenkrupp Uhde, Germany, as technology provider and partner for its planned clean ammonia facility, currently under consideration at Geismar, La.
Intended to serve the agriculture, industrial, and emerging energy markets, the 1.2 million mt/y facility will claim title as the world’s largest clean ammonia production facility, and is expected to capture and store more than 90% of CO2 emissions, giving the facility the smallest carbon footprint of any ammonia production center of its scale. Future modifications could transition the plant to net-zero emissions, Nutrien said.
“This partnership marks another important milestone in our commitment to provide solutions to help meet the world’s decarbonization goals through leadership in clean ammonia production,” said Trevor Williams, Interim President of Nitrogen and Phosphate at Nutrien. “We are glad to have an experienced partner with both the technology and proven execution competence to join us on this journey as we strive to sustainably feed and fuel the future.”
The ammonia plant will utilize autothermal reforming technology (ATR), according to thyssenkrupp. “ATR allows for a nearly CO2-free syngas production from natural gas with the help of pure oxygen,” thyssenkrupp said. “Ammonia is produced in a second step, and the CO2 from this combined reforming is captured and stored.”
Nutrien has partnered with thyssenkrupp on a number of past projects, with thyssenkrupp operating in capacities ranging from licensing and technology, to full engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) agreements, Nutrien said.
“We are excited to be the chosen technology partner for this project and support the execution as well,” said thyssenkrupp CEO Dr. Cord Landsmann. “This is another proof point that the market is shifting towards sustainable, clean ammonia. And we can deliver easy to install solutions at the necessary scale.”
The plant remains in the front-end engineering design (FEED) phase, and is awaiting a final investment decision due in 2023. If given the green light, construction on the $2 billion facility would begin in 2024, followed by full production in 2027 (GM May 20, 2022).
thyssenkrupp has built more than 2,500 chemical plants worldwide, including several ammonia production facilities, according to the company website. Earlier in October, thyssenkrupp was tapped by the UK’s Oracle Power PLC to conduct a feasibility study for the construction of a green hydrogen and ammonia facility, and in August won a contract from Qatar Fertilizer Co. (QAFCO) for EPC and commissioning of a new blue ammonia plant in Qatar, thyssenkrupp said.
Nutrien noted it has actively been pursuing the development of low-carbon ammonia for more than a decade, and has approximately 1 million mt/y of production capability through its Redwater and Joffre, Alta., operations, as well as Geismar, all of which employ carbon capture and sequestration technology (GM July 30, 2021).
Nutrien has also signed a Letter of Intent to collaborate with Mitsubishi Corp., Tokyo, for offtake of up to 40% of expected production from the plant to deliver to the Asian fuel market, including Japan, once construction at Geismar is complete (GM May 20, 2022).