A proposed clean ammonia production facility is advancing in Mingo County, W.Va., with an anticipated initial production capacity of 2.1 million mt/y and construction slated to begin in 2024, the project’s partners announced on April 3.
The multi-billion-dollar Adams Fork Energy blue ammonia project is being developed by Adams Fork Energy LLC and the Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe on the site of a reclaimed coal mine near Gilbert Creek, W.Va. The facility is expected to be online in late 2026 or early 2027.
The partners are touting the plant as the largest clean ammonia facility in the US and an anchor project in the Appalachian Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub (ARCH2), a proposed initiative to use natural gas as a feedstock to create hydrogen and capture and store carbon from various industries in the region.
“Adams Fork Energy is a transformational manufacturing investment for Southern West Virginia,” said Francis Sacr, Special Advisor to the President of Adams Fork Energy. “Thanks to leadership in Washington through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act, we’re excited to advance our clean ammonia production facility that will create family-sustaining local jobs while boosting available supply of clean ammonia, a critical component to sustainable food production and achieving a lower-carbon energy future.”
The project developers said that they have entered into a strategic partnership with CNX Resources Corp., a natural gas company based in Pittsburgh, Pa., with operations in the Appalachian Basin, to provide fuel and carbon sequestration services. Technology provider Haldor Topsoe will furnish its SynCOR™ clean ammonia technology for the facility.
“This project is accelerating America’s lower carbon energy and manufacturing future in the heart of Appalachia,” said Nick Deiuliis, CNX President and CEO. “Similar to our other regional projects, CNX’s unique combination of assets, innovative technologies, and proven operational expertise make us the premier energy and tech company driving the Basin’s lower emission future.”
“This project will be an important part of the energy transition with a CO2 capture of more than 99%,” said Henrik Rasmussen, Managing Director, the Americas, for Haldor Topsoe. “The plant will produce 6,000 metric tons per day of decarbonized clean ammonia in the first phase.”
The project is expected to support 2,000 construction jobs, as well as generate significant tax revenues and capital investment for Mingo County in southern West Virginia. Adams Fork said it has received federal, state, and local bipartisan support, and is expected to displace more than 2.7 million mt/y of CO2 equivalent.
“I’m incredibly proud that the Adams Fork Energy plant will become the largest clean ammonia facility in the country,” said West Virginia Governor Jim Justice. “I’m confident they will be a champion in this emerging field and help our southern West Virginia communities flourish for decades to come.”
Adams Fork Energy was founded in 2010 to convert stranded American fossil fuels into useable chemicals. The company partnered with the Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe in 2022 to develop these projects.
“The advancement of this project benefits the tribe economically, and the use of innovative technology presents a viable source of domestic energy independence for the US,” said Anthony Reider, President of the Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe. “Our participation will present unique opportunities for federal funding for the project, and the Tribe will benefit from educational opportunities afforded by the project’s sponsors to our Tribal members.”
U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) also hailed the project, noting that it was made possible by programs created in the Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act to support the production and use of hydrogen in the US.
“The Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law continue to deliver for West Virginia,” Manchin said. “Today’s announcement of plans for a clean ammonia production facility in Mingo County will help ensure the Mountain State continues to be a leader in American energy innovation and support good paying, West Virginia energy jobs.”