Trammo Inc., New York City, and ReMo Energy Inc., Boston, on Oct. 17 announced that they have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for Trammo to purchase green ammonia from ReMo’s forthcoming 16,000 st/y green ammonia production plant. ReMo will develop a green hydrogen-based ammonia facility at Trammo’s existing anhydrous ammonia terminal in Meredosia, Ill., and Trammo will be the facility’s exclusive offtaker.
The parties say that based on the current projected start-up timing for the plant in 2024, the facility would be the first green ammonia production location to be commissioned at commercial scale in the US.
“Low-cost renewable energy has changed the game for commodities production,” said Guido Radaelli, ReMo CTO. “To take advantage of this new energy resource, ReMo has re-engineered how ammonia plants will be designed, manufactured and operated. For the first time, cost-competitive local production of green ammonia is now practical.”
“This project is perfectly in line with our strategy to quickly develop access to green ammonia for our customers,” said Christophe Savi, Trammo’s Global Ammonia Product Manager.
“As the world’s leading independent marketer of anhydrous ammonia, Trammo maintains a unique position in the transportation and distribution of ammonia,” said Jeffrey Minnis, Trammo President of North America Trading. “In this role we are dedicated to being at the forefront of the transition to a low-carbon future and facilitating ammonia’s direct role in that development. Our participation in this project represents a meaningful and practical step in that direction. We are pleased to be working with ReMo Energy and its highly skilled team to bring green ammonia to our customers in the U.S. Midwest.”
“We are delighted that Trammo has chosen ReMo for this effort,” said Scott Rackey, ReMo CEO. “Trammo’s decades of experience, vast infrastructure and global presence make them an ideal partner to build the green ammonia industry.”
When ReMo announced the launch of its technology earlier this year, it said it was already in advanced discussions with prospective offtakers (GM May 13, p. 1). At that time, it said is had completed a front-end loading (FEL) level 2 study for a 16,000 st/y demonstration scale facility, which would facilitate off-the-shelf components and ReMo’s patent-pending architecture. The company anticipates its full-scale plants would produce 80,000-100,000 st/y.
ReMo lists as an investor Breakthrough Energy, Kirkland, Wash., which was established in 2016 by Bill Gates and a coalition of private investors concerned about the impacts of accelerating climate change.
This is not Trammo’s first foray into green ammonia. The company has an 800,000 mt/y offtake agreement for a proposed Sept-Iles, Quebec, project being developed by Teal Corp., Magog, Quebec (GM April 1, 2022; June 3, 2022), with Teal and Trammo also eyeing a low-carbon project in Texas.
Trammo has an MOU for 1 million mt/y of offtake from a project planned in Chile with ASOE Chile Diez SpA (GM May 21, 2021). It has signed an MOU to become a partner in the Transhydrogen Alliance, which entails a joint initiative and mutual cooperation on the production and import of green hydrogen and ammonia into Europe via Rotterdam, as well as its export from selected locations worldwide (GM March 26, 2021). It also has an MOU with Proton Ventures for joint cooperation on green ammonia projects, with subsequent green ammonia supply to Trammo (GM Jan. 22, 2021).
On the other side of the coin, Trammo has an MOU to supply green ammonia to Lotte Fine Chemical, Seoul, the largest ammonia buyer in Asia (GM Sept. 17, 2021).