South Korean petrochemical producer Lotte Chemical Corp., Seoul, and Japanese trading firm Itochu, Tokyo, on July 22 announced that they have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to cooperate in business including ammonia trading, ammonia infrastructure, and hydrogen-ammonia market development. The two will also jointly invest in ammonia production facilities and explore further cooperation in hydrogen.
“Lotte Chemical’s ammonia distribution and infrastructure and business experience, together with Itochu Corp.’s ammonia bunkering knowhow and global networks, will lead to significant footsteps to carbon neutralization,” said Hwang Jin-koo, the Head of Hydrogen Energy Division (President of Basic Material Division).
Lotte has set a goal to invest US$4.6 billion by 2030 to produce 1.2 million mt of clean hydrogen, which would be used for power generation, fuel cells, gas turbines, and transport. The hydrogen would be produced abroad and converted to ammonia for stable storage and transport to Korea.