CF Industries/Jera/Mitsui break ground on largest blue ammonia plant in US
Blue Point One, a joint venture between CF Industries Holdings, the world’s largest producer of ammonia; Jera Co, Japan’s largest energy company; and Mitsui & Co, an investment and trading company, broke ground in Modeste, Louisiana, on a low-carbon ammonia plant that can serve both traditional agricultural customers and emerging energy applications.
The plant is expected to be the world’s largest ammonia plant upon completion, with a production capacity of 1.4 million tonnes/year.
Highlights of the project include:
– US$3.7 billion investment by Blue Point One joint venture members, with contributions allocated according to ownership levels. CF Industries holds 40% ownership, Jera 35% ownership, and Mitsui 25% ownership.
– Blue Point One plant is located in Modeste, Louisiana, and is expected to begin production in 2029.
– The ammonia plant will have an average annual capacity of 1.4 million tonnes.
– An estimated 3,900 construction jobs will be created over four years.
– CF Industries is investing an additional US$550 million over four years in shared, scalable infrastructure that positions Blue Point One for future ammonia production and fertiliser upgrades.
– Linde will invest more than US$400 million in a new on-site air-separation unit to supply oxygen and nitrogen to the Blue Point One ammonia plant.
– A joint venture between 1PointFive, a subsidiary of Occidental, and Enbridge, Inc., an energy delivery company, will transport and permanently sequester carbon dioxide from the plant.
Blue Point One is expected to be operational in 2029, becoming one of the first ammonia plants in the world to leverage autothermal reforming (ATR) production technology, a method to help produce hydrogen for synthesis with nitrogen in the ammonia production process. The plant is expected to capture and permanently sequester 98% of the CO2 generated in production, resulting in the lowest environmental footprint of any large-scale ammonia production facility in the world, meeting customer requirements, and supporting expanded ammonia manufacturing in the United States.
CF Industries’ Blue Point Complex, where the Blue Point One ammonia plant is being constructed, includes space for future expansion.
