USA fixes sights on blue ammonia production

This new facility, which the partners are looking to  build with a carbon capture plant in the Gulf Coast region, aims to have a total capacity of 1.2 to 1.4 million tonnes p.a. to serve the growing global demand for low-carbon ammonia.

“Yara and BASF have successfully collaborated in the past and we are pleased to explore a new clean ammonia project together,” said Magnus Krogh Ankarstrand, president of Yara Clean Ammonia.

“In line with Yara Clean Ammonia’s strategy, we are working systematically to develop asset-backed supply to decarbonize agriculture as well as serving new clean ammonia segments such as shipping fuel, power production and ammonia as a hydrogen carrier.”

Reduced carbon

Approximately 95% of the carbon dioxide (CO2) generated from the production process is aimed to be captured and permanently stored in the ground.

This would allow Yara to serve its customers with clean ammonia with a significantly reduced product carbon footprint. For BASF, the new plant would act as backward integration to serve the company’s demand for low-carbon ammonia and would lower the carbon footprint of its ammonia-based products.

BASF and Yara are long-standing collaboration partners and successfully operating a joint world-scale ammonia plant at BASF’s site in Freeport, Texas. The companies plan to complete the feasibility study on the low-carbon blue ammonia production facility by the end of 2023.

The product characteristics of blue ammonia are identical to conventionally produced ammonia. But since the CO2 generated in the production process is captured and not released to the atmosphere, it can play a significant role in the transition to alternative, less carbon-intensive products.