Mitsui & Co., Ltd., (“Mitsui”, Head Office: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, President and CEO: Kenichi Hori) and CF Industries (“CF”, Head Office: Illinois, USA) have formed an agreement to jointly develop a clean ammonia production project in the United States.
The project will produce at least 1 million tons of clean ammonia per year in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, with CF as the operational partner, and will leverage CCUS*1 processes to reduce CO2 emissions by more than 60% compared to conventional ammonia production methods. The two companies have agreed to advance the development with CF having 52% ownership and Mitsui having 48% ownership, and plan to jointly conduct a FEED*2 study with the aim of making a final investment decision (FID) in 2023 and starting production in 2027.
Traditionally used for fertilizer and industrial purposes, ammonia is attracting new attention as a zero-emission fuel that does not emit CO2 when burned, and as a means of transporting hydrogen. Mitsui will lead the sales of clean ammonia produced in this project to Japan and other Asian markets, thereby contributing to low-carbon electricity generation in those countries.
Mitsui has about 50 years of experience in the ammonia business and holds the largest share of imports into Japan, and CF is the world’s largest ammonia producer with extensive operational experience. The two companies will mutually leverage each other’s strengths to advance this project.
Mitsui has set a goal of achieving net zero emissions by 2050, and aims to halve its greenhouse gas (GHG) impact by 2030 compared to the fiscal year ended March 2020. Through this project and other GHG reduction initiatives, Mitsui will contribute to the realization of a carbon neutral society.
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