JWC Gburg LLC, a Nebraska-based startup founded in 2020, is developing a $750 million fertilizer facility to produce “zero-carbon ammonia” in Gothenburg, Neb., according to local news reports.
Dubbed the “Meadlowlark Project,” the plant has a planned nameplate capacity of 350,000 st/y of UAN, 140,000 st/y of ammonium thiosulfate (ATS), and 20 million gallons a year of diesel exhaust fluid. The Grand Island Independent reported that construction will take approximately two years, citing Mike Bacon of the Gothenburg Improvement Company.
JWC Gburg has reportedly secured a building site along the North Platte River, key engineering and technology contracts, and green electricity supply from the Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD), as well as liquified CO2 and wastewater input sources, KRVN News reported.
“The Meadowlark Project builds on Nebraska’s long tradition of innovation in agriculture. This project will more sustainably produce high-quality fertilizer right here in our state, reducing our reliance on foreign imports and transportation delays,” Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen told a crowd of 300 attending an inaugural event on June 28. “This plant comes at a critical time for us to add high-paying jobs and lower farmers’ costs in this region of our state.”
Initial project financing for the plant was secured in 2021, KRVN reported, but the project will receive additional federal and state help from tax incentives and grant funds from the U.S. Department of Energy as part of a regional “Midcontinent Hydrogen Hub.” Once operational, the plant will employ 50 full-time workers.
The plant will achieve net negative emissions through a zero-carbon production process that utilizes liquified CO2 waste from ethanol or power plants, water from Gothenburg’s wastewater plant, and electricity from NPPD, which will invest up to $100 million to supply renewable energy to the plant, NPPD CEO Tom Kent said during the kickoff event.
“The excitement around this project is palpable and it is particularly rewarding to experience cooperation and support from many different sources,” said Joshua Westling, who co-founded JWC Gburg with Chris Hayhurst. “The Governor and the State of Nebraska, our federal, state, and local elected officials, and utility company leadership, just to name a few, have all provided support necessary for this project to become a reality.”