CF Industries, JERA, And Mitsui Form Joint Venture For Low-Carbon Ammonia Production

(RTTNews) - CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (CF), Tuesday announced that it has entered into a joint venture with Japan's JERA Co. Inc., the country's largest energy company, and Mitsui & Co. Inc., a global investment and trading company.

The goal of this venture is the construction, production, and offtake of low-carbon ammonia. The joint venture between CF Industries, JERA, and Mitsui has been structured with CF Industries holding a 40% stake, JERA owning 35%, and Mitsui holding 25%. This partnership will focus on constructing a $4 billion autothermal reforming - ATR ammonia production facility at CF Industries' Blue Point Complex in Louisiana.

The facility will be equipped with CO2 dehydration and compression units to enable carbon capture, and it is designed to have an annual production capacity of 1.4 million metric tons, making it the largest ammonia production facility by nameplate capacity in the world. Production is expected to begin in 2029.

In addition to the facility, CF Industries will invest $550 million to build scalable infrastructure at the Blue Point site to support the ammonia production operation. While CF Industries will manage the day-to-day operations of the facility, the captured CO2 will be handled by 1PointFive, which will compress, transport, and sequester the CO2 at its Pelican Sequestration Hub in Louisiana. The facility is expected to capture over 95% of the CO2 emissions from the ammonia production process.

Financial and Environmental Outlook - The total cost of constructing the ammonia production facility is estimated at $4 billion, with half of that cost associated with materials imported into the U.S. Construction will begin in 2026, with operations slated for 2029. Additionally, the facility will capture more than 2.3 million metric tons of CO2 annually, with the CO2 being permanently sequestered at the Pelican Sequestration Hub.

Engineering and Technology - Technip Energies has been selected as the engineering, procurement, and module fabrication partner for the project. The joint venture will use Topsoe's SynCOR ATR ammonia plant technology, licensed for the production of low-carbon ammonia.

This venture represents a significant step in advancing the global ammonia supply chain and contributing to a cleaner, more sustainable energy future.

CF is currently trading at $70.31 or 2.40% lower on the NYSE.