Japanese power firm seeks ammonia partner

Jera, a utility that generates 30% of Japan’s electricity, has selected two finalists—the nitrogen fertilizer firms CF Industries and Yara International—for a large contract to supply clean ammonia fuel to a power plant in Japan. A final deal could lead to a new ammonia project on the US Gulf Coast.

Jera plans to convert 20% of the fuel at Japan’s Hekinan Thermal Power Plant Unit 4 from coal to clean ammonia such as blue ammonia, which is made by reforming natural gas and then capturing and storing carbon dioxide emissions. The company had been testing cofiring ammonia and coal at the site since 2021 and decided last year to move forward with large-scale ammonia use.

In February 2022, Jera solicited contracts for the 500,000 metric tons (t) per year of ammonia that it would need for the program beginning in 2027. The utility stipulated that it should have the opportunity to participate in overseas clean ammonia projects.

Japan is keen on using ammonia as a low-carbon-emission fuel for its power sector. The country’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry has a goal of importing 3 million t of ammonia for power by 2030 and 30 million t by 2050.

Jera’s agreement with US-based CF calls for developing a blue ammonia project with 1 million t per year of capacity. Jera is also considering buying clean ammonia from CF’s massive fertilizer complex in Donaldsonville, Louisiana.

In Donaldsonville, CF plans to convert 1.7 million t of conventional ammonia production to blue ammonia by capturing and storing 2 million t of CO₂ per year. It also plans to install electrolyzers to make renewable hydrogen for green ammonia production at the site.

And last May, CF announced that it was studying a blue ammonia plant on the Gulf Coast with another Japanese firm, Mitsui & Co. At the time, the partners said they intended to market the new plant’s output in Asia.

Jera’s agreement with Yara, a Norwegian fertilizer maker, also calls for a potential US ammonia plant with 1 million t of capacity. Yara is already building a green ammonia project in Norway and has joined carbon-capture collaborations around Europe.

“Whether JERA will ultimately conclude a contract with Yara or CF for the procurement of fuel-ammonia is to be determined through future discussions, and has not been decided at this stage,” a Jera representative says in an email. The firm also notes the possibility that the two fertilizer companies might split the 500,000 t contract.

In September, Jera announced that it was working with ConocoPhillips and the German energy firm Uniper to develop a 2 million t per year clean ammonia plant on the Gulf Coast by the end of the decade. The partners intend to ship that ammonia to Europe.