Construction is underway at Blue Point One (#32 in map below), a low-carbon ammonia plant in Modeste, LA, billed by the joint venture’s partners — CF Industries (40%), JERA (35%) and Mitsui (25%) — as the world’s biggest of its kind. The plant will have an annual capacity of 1.4 million MT and is expected to begin production in 2029.
As discussed in this week's Hydrogen Billboard, the project’s $3.7 billion cost will be shared by the JV partners according to their ownership levels. In addition to the overall project cost, CF Industries is investing an additional $550 million over four years in shared, scalable infrastructure to position the site for future ammonia production and fertilizer upgrades.
Blue Hydrogen and Ammonia Projects in North America.
Linde will invest more than $400 million in a new on-site air-separation unit to supply oxygen and nitrogen to the plant, while a JV between 1PointFive (a subsidiary of Occidental) and Enbridge will transport and permanently sequester the carbon dioxide (CO2) from the plant. The plant is expected to capture about 98% of the CO2 generated in production.
The site (see rendering below) will be one of the first ammonia plants to use autothermal reforming (ATR) technology, a method used to produce hydrogen for synthesis with nitrogen in the ammonia production process. Combining ATR with carbon-capture technology allows for higher energy efficiency and a simplified, single-train process to facilitate high rates of carbon capture at industrial facilities.
Rendering of the Blue Point One Complex in Louisiana.
Source: CF Industries
