KBR tech starts up at Japan’s first NEDO‑backed green ammonia plant

Japan’s first green ammonia plant using KBR’s K‑GreeN® process is now fully operational at a JGC Holdings Corporation site in Japan. The project is sponsored by the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO), the national agency that funds clean energy and industrial R&D.

JGC, a Yokohama‑based engineering and construction group best known for oil, gas and process plants, led engineering and construction and now owns and operates the facility. KBR licensed its K‑GreeN technology and supplied proprietary equipment. Hydrogen is generated via alkaline electrolysers from Asahi Kasei, powered by a nearby photovoltaic plant and the grid, with liquefied nitrogen delivered by tanker, to produce about 4 t/d of green ammonia at full capacity for DeNox use in power plants.

The plant uses an Integrated Control System developed by JGC and Asahi Kasei alongside K‑GreeN’s advanced process control, allowing fully dynamic operation and rapid response to fluctuations in solar power. KBR said the project shows “what’s possible when industry leaders unite behind innovation,” arguing that by combining its established ammonia synthesis technology with electrolysers, nitrogen generation and smart energy storage, “reliable, renewable based ammonia is not just the future, it’s here today.”