SK Group-Backed Firm Developing $1 Billion Ammonia Plant in Texas

(Bloomberg) -- A low-carbon $1 billion ammonia production plant using proprietary hydrogen technology is being developed in Texas with the promise to cut carbon at coal-fired power plants, a major source of global carbon dioxide emissions.

The SK Group-backed climate technology company 8 Rivers Capital LLC is building the Cormorant Clean Energy Project in Port Arthur that is expected to produce an estimated 880,000 tons of ammonia, the company said. The plant will use proprietary oxy combustion technology, which the company says captures CO2, eliminates emissions and lowers production costs. It is expected to break ground in 2025 with commercial operation beginning late 2027, according to Chief Operating Officer Steve Milward. 

Ammonia produced from the plant will be sold at auction in South Korea, which has prioritized the fuel as a feedstock for coal-fired power plants, Milward said. Adding ammonia to coal in the production process, or “co-firing,” is part of the country’s decarbonization strategy. “There is going to be a very large demand for ammonia — I would say multimillion tons over the next decade into Korea,” Milward said in an interview. 

The emissions reduction benefit of this process has been challenged by some scientists, partly because burning ammonia can produce nitrous oxide emissions, a potent greenhouse gas. In addition, low-carbon ammonia is expensive to combust, according to  Adithya Bhashyam, an associate on BloombergNEF’s hydrogen team. 

“While it’s something that has received a lot of political support in Japan and Korea, in particular, and some other Southeast Asian countries, we think the economics are really challenging,” Bhashyam said.

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