CF Industries and Lotte Chemical to scale ammonia supply chain

The world's largest producer of ammonia CF Industries has teamed up with South Korean chemicals producer Lotte Chemical to create a supply chain for ammonia into South Korea through a long-term offtake agreement.

PHOTO: Hwang Jin-koo, head of the hydrogen energy business at Lotte Chemical (right) signing an agreement with Tony Will, president and chief executive of CF Industries (left). Lotte Chemical

Through this agreement, the two companies will look to invest in a new green ammonia plant in the US. They are considering CF Industries’ existing Blue Point Complex in Louisiana for the project. The clean ammonia produced will then be exported to South Korea.

The companies have not specified whether the plant's hydrogen intake will be made up of green or blue hydrogen, but say it will use carbon capture and sequestration technologies. This is to reduce the carbon dioxide emitted from the ammonia production that can meet the requirements of South Korean clean ammonia market.

Carbon capture and sequestration projects have gained popularity in recent years as companies look to cut their emissions.

“In order to bolster the domestic hydrogen economy, it is important to secure a stable supply of clean hydrogen and ammonia, especially in overseas regions with abundant energy and low geopolitical risks," head of hydrogen energy business at Lotte Chemical Jin-koo Hwang said.

The companies will study South Korean ammonia demand for power generation, bunkering and other sectors, to understand how much production capacity they need to meet expected demand.

Lotte Chemical aims to invest around 6 trillion won ($4.3 billion) towards 2030 to produce and sell 1.20 million mt/year of clean hydrogen.

By Debarati Bhattacharjee

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