JERA Americas & Uniper announced a non-binding Heads of Agreement, together with ConocoPhillips, for an ammonia sale to Uniper and that moves their cooperation on development of a low-carbon ammonia production facility along the U.S. Gulf Coast to the next phase.
The announcement builds on a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) the parties signed in September 2022 to assess the potential for developing ammonia production facilities in the region. The project would have an initial production capacity of 2 MTPA of low-carbon ammonia with potential for expansion in the future.
ConocoPhillips and JERA Americas plan to jointly develop the production facility project which would accelerate production and supply of low-carbon fuel to markets in the US, Europe, Japan, and greater Asia. The project will also include evaluation and development of carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) facilities. The proposed ammonia production facility would produce hydrogen and convert it into clean ammonia for transport to markets abroad with a target of achieving first commercial deliveries by the end of the decade.
“We are very pleased to announce this contracting progress with Uniper SE as a core customer for our low carbon hydrogen/ammonia project. In close collaboration with our development partner ConocoPhillips, this builds on the sales MOU we signed last year. The rapid development of global-scale, low carbon hydrogen/ammonia production is critical to the timely realization of our collective global energy transition initiatives. We continue to see strong demand for ammonia as a hydrogen carrier to a wide variety of users in Europe and Asia.” Said Steven O’Rourke, Chief Executive Officer of JERA Americas.
“Projects like this one are critical to moving responsibly toward greener feedstocks while ensuring security of supply for our customers. Developing production capability now to ensure the clean hydrogen and ammonia volumes that will be needed in the future is a key aspect to accelerating the energy transition in Europe and globally. This project offers some real opportunities in that regard, and we are pleased to be associated with it.” Said Carsten Poppinga, Chief Commercial Officer for Uniper SE.
Uniper separately has also announced it plans for a "Green Wilhelmshaven" with its combination of hydrogen imports and production to create a common European hydrogen market and has already submitted the project to the German Federal Ministry of Economics as an Important Project of Common European Interest (IPCEI). IPCEIs are intended to promote integrated projects along the entire hydrogen value chain.
