Atlas Agro AG, the Swiss company that owns Pacific Green Fertilizer Corp., has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Houston-based KBR to license KBR’s K-GreeN® technology for Atlas’ planned investments in green nitrogen plants, including the Richland, Wash., ammonium nitrate (AN) plant (GM March 31, p. 1).
Pacific Green inked a $9.1 million real estate purchase and sale agreement with the Port of Benton, a municipal corporation in Washington, on March 8 for a 150-acre site. The company’s development plan is for a 1 million square foot fully renewable hydrogen production facility to form ammonia, nitric acid, and AN.
“We are proud to partner with KBR and use its K-GreeN process for our green fertilizer facilities,” said Atlas Agro CEO Petter Østbø in an April 13 statement. “Each of our green ammonia plants will produce fertilizer that will help feed nearly 16 million people and avoid global carbon emissions of more than one million tons per year.”
Under the terms of the MOU, KBR will provide technology licensing, basic engineering design, proprietary equipment, and catalyst for Atlas Agro’s green nitrogen plants. The capital expenditure for the Richland plant is projected at $1.2 billion and the company expects the facility to employ 160. The project’s timeline is for groundbreaking in 2024, with the plant to be operational in 2026-2027.
“We are excited to support Atlas Agro’s vision of zero-carbon fertilizer production through our market leading green ammonia technology, K-GreeN,” said Doug Kelly, KBR President, Technology. “We are also confident that we can drive schedule synergies across the series of plants to accelerate availability of clean ammonia globally.”
The Yakima Herald Republic reported this week that Atlas Agro has started an engineering study for the Richland plant and is pursuing an “all-of-the-above” strategy to consider existing and emerging renewable generation sources in the region, including solar, wind, nuclear power, hydroelectric power, and biofuels.
The planned facility was praised this week by Washington Gov. Jay Inslee and U.S. Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), the Yakima Herald Republic reported, with Murray calling it “a game changer for farmers across Washington state and the entire Pacific Northwest.”
“Washington welcomes Atlas Agro and is excited to watch it develop the world’s first commercial-scale green fertilizer plant,” Inslee said in a statement released by Agro. “This is a meaningful example of what’s possible as we build a clean, green hydrogen sector in our state and seize the economic opportunities of a zero-carbon future.”