Japanese trading house Mitsubishi Corp is mulling constructing one of the world’s largest ammonia production facilities in Texas, as reported by Nikkei Asia on September 28. On the same day, the Japanese company signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Corpus Christi port authority. Near the Nueces County of Texas, the port is the biggest energy exporting terminal in the US. Mitsubishi plans to transport ammonia from the terminal to customers in Japan and other parts of Asia. In the next few years, Mitsubishi will study the feasibility of the ammonia manufacturing project and lay out the business plan with a specific investment amount. It expects to start operating the project in the early 2030s, then increase the production capacity in phases.

The planned ammonia facility in Texas features blue ammonia with reduced climate impact, as carbon dioxide generated from the manufacturing process will be captured and stored. According to Mitsubishi’s projection, the scheme could develop a production capacity of up to 10m tons a year. The supply capabilities would be more than sufficient to meet Japan’s demand for fuel ammonia, which the Japanese government expects to hit 3m tons by 2030. Aside from expanding ammonia supply, Mitsubishi is also exploring new application scenarios for this clean fuel. On September 27, the Japanese company joined hands with KEPPEL New Energy and Det Norske Veritas (DNV), the world’s largest classification society for maritime shipping, to study the feasibility of an ammonia-fueled power plant in Singapore and develop an ammonia-fired gas turbine.

Sources:

https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Environment/Climate-Change/Japan-s-Mitsubishi-Corp.-eyes-massive-blue-ammonia-hub-in-Texashttps://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/keppel-ties-up-with-mitsubishi-heavy-dnv-to-explore-ammonia-fuelled-gas-turbine