The CF Industries plant in Medicine Hat is seen from a distance in this February 2012 file photo. The company expects to decide this year on building a major ammonia plant in Louisiana.--NEWS FILE PHOTO
@MedicineHatNews
CF Industries expects to make a final decision in late 2024 toward building a US$3-billion, low-carbon ammonia plant in Louisiana.
The joint development venture with Japanese industrial consortium, Mitsui &Co., was announced in 2022, and this week in year-end financial results, CF said with advanced planning and engineering nearing completion, it could approve construction after the summer.
“CF Industries and Mitsui also expect greater clarity later in 2024 regarding demand for low-carbon ammonia, including the ammonia carbon intensity requirements of off-take partners as well as government incentives and regulatory developments in partners’ local jurisdictions,” reads the statement. “As a result of these factors, the companies are targeting the second half of 2024 for a final investment decision on the proposed low-carbon ammonia plant.”
The facility would produce “blue ammonia” derived from steam-reforming methane with associated carbon capture infrastructure.
CF also announced it is currently commissioning its “green ammonia” production line at its Donaldsonville, La. complex that would produce 20,000 tonnes per year of ammonia produced by electrolysing water to separate oxygen and hydrogen. The company states it will be the first commercial scale “green ammonia site in North America.”
CF has a cumulative annual production capacity of 9.5 million tonnes across its global network, including a complex at Medicine Hat.
In its year-end financial report, CF stated it earned US$1.53 billion in 2023, down from US$3.35 billion in 2022, due to lower commodity prices, though the cost of natural gas feed stock last year was half the previous year’s average.
