US hydrogen and fertiliser company CF Industries plans to become the world’s first high-volume supplier of blue ammonia after signing a deal to develop carbon capture and storage (CCS) infrastructure with US oil major ExxonMobil and Texas-based gas pipeline operator Enlink.

The CCS project aims to capture and sequester up to 2mn t/yr of CO₂ from CF’s Ascension Parish manufacturing complex from early 2025. It will be pumped through Enlink’s network and permanently stored underground at a 125,000-acre site owned by ExxonMobil at Vermilion Parish, approximately 100 miles southwest of CF’s facility.

CF says it will capture the CO₂ from its ammonia production process so that the product qualifies as low-carbon.

"CF Industries will be first to market with a significant volume of blue ammonia" Will, CF Industries

“This agreement ensures that we remain at the forefront of the developing clean energy economy. As we leverage proven carbon capture and sequestration technology, CF Industries will be first to market with a significant volume of blue ammonia,” says CF CEO Tony Will.

CF aims to market up to 1.7mn t/yr of blue ammonia.

ExxonMobil says supportive US government policies are helping drive forward CCS at scale. 

“ExxonMobil is providing a critical and scalable solution to reduce CO₂ emissions, and we are ready to offer the same service to other large industrial customers in the state of Louisiana and around the world,” says Dan Ammann, president of ExxonMobil Low Carbon Solutions.

“We are encouraged by the momentum we see building for projects of this kind, thanks to supportive policies such as the Inflation Reduction Act [IRA].”

US support for CCS under the 45Q tax credit have been enhanced under the IRA, which passed in August. The credit amounts available to projects have been increased and the thresholds for the amount of CO₂ that a qualifying project must capture have been lowered. The IRA also extends the deadline for construction of projects to 2033 from 2026.

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Author: Stuart Penson