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Fertilizer International 526 May-Jun 2025

6 May 2025

CF Industries announces low-carbon ammonia joint venture

UNITED STATES

CF Industries announces low-carbon ammonia joint venture

CF Industries is set to construct the world’s largest low-carbon ammonia plant in Louisiana as part of a joint venture (JV) with Jera and Mitsui.

Production is scheduled to start in 2029. The project, which is located at CF Industries’ Blue Point Complex, expects to qualify for 45Q tax credits for approximately 2.3 million tonnes per year of sequestered CO2 .

The JV will cover the construction, production and offtake of low-carbon ammonia. Its ownership is divided between:

  • CF industries (40%)
  • JERA, Japan’s largest energy company (35%)
  • Leading global investment and trading company Mitsui (25%).

Together, the three partners will construct an autothermal reforming (ATR) ammonia production plant at the Blue Point Complex. This will have a nameplate capacity of around 1.4 million t/a, making it the largest ammonia production facility in the world, according to CF. The new ammonia plant will be coupled to an on-site carbon dioxide (CO2) dehydration and compression unit to prepare the captured CO2 for onward transportation and sequestration.

Carbon capture, utilisation, and sequestration (CCUS) for the project will be handled by PointFive, a subsidiary of Occidental. This company will transport and then sequester approximately 2.3 million tonnes of CO2 annually at its Pelican Sequestration Hub in Louisiana.

The project’s estimated $4 billion construction cost will be funded by each partner according to their ownership percentage. The respective ownership stakes will also determine the division between the three companies of the ammonia offtake from the plant.

CF Industries will be responsible for the operation and maintenance of the new ammonia production plant. The company will also invest approximately $550 million in supporting infrastructure for the project at its Blue Point site, including product storage and loading facilities.

“CF Industries is proud to partner with global leaders JERA and Mitsui to build the leading low-carbon ammonia production facility in the world,” said Tony Will, CF Industries’ president and CEO. “Our joint venture represents tangible progress towards building a reliable and affordable low-carbon ammonia value chain to meet what we expect to be robust global demand for low-carbon ammonia for both traditional and new applications.”

The JV awarded the engineering, procurement and module fabrication contract for the low-carbon ammonia production plant to Technip Energies. The process license was awarded to Topsoe for its low carbon (blue) SynCOR ATR ammonia plant technology.

CF said pre-construction activities and engineering evaluations at the Blue Point Complex will begin this year, with construction expected to begin in 2026.

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