• CO₂ emissions to be reduced by more than 60%

• uhde^® ammonia technology enables world-leading single-train capacity

thyssenkrupp Uhde has been selected as technology provider for a new “Blue Ammonia” plant in the United States by Mitsui & Co., Ltd. (Mitsui), one of the leading ammonia marketers in the world, and CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (CF), the world’s largest producer of ammonia. The new greenfield facility will produce blue ammonia by leveraging carbon capture and sequestration processes to reduce carbon emissions by more than 60% compared to conventional ammonia. As a first step, thyssenkrupp Uhde will conduct a front-end engineering and design (FEED) study for the proposed joint venture of CF and Mitsui. The aim is to construct an export-oriented greenfield blue ammonia facility in Ascension Parish, Louisiana, USA. Demand for blue ammonia is expected to grow significantly as a decarbonized energy source, both for its hydrogen content and as a fuel or feedstock itself.

CF and Mitsui had previously signed a joint development agreement that provides the framework for the FEED study. In addition, CF Industries acquired land during the third quarter of 2022 on the west bank of Ascension Parish, Louisiana, on which the proposed facility would be constructed should the companies agree to move forward. CF Industries and Mitsui expect to make a final investment decision on the proposed facility in the second half of 2023. Construction and commissioning of a new world-scale capacity ammonia plant typically takes approximately 4 years.

Dr. Cord Landsmann, CEO thyssenkrupp Uhde: “We are proud to be chosen once more by our long-term customer to take another big step towards more environmental friendliness. The market clearly moves towards clean ammonia, for energy as well as for fertilizers. Reducing emissions wherever possible is the need of the hour, and we have the solutions and the cross-industry integration competencies.”

thyssenkrupp Uhde has realized several projects for CF, and both parties can look back on decades of successful cooperation. In 2016, major ammonia and urea/UAN production units in Donaldsonville, Louisiana, were completed, and new ammonia and urea units in Port Neal, Iowa. For both fertilizer complexes thyssenkrupp Uhde was responsible for the basic engineering, detail engineering, procurement and supply services, as well as providing services during construction and commissioning.

Climate protection made simple: emission reduction at large scale

thyssenkrupp Uhde has over 100 years of experience in engineering and building of chemical plants, more than 2,500 in total. As a global technology plus EPC provider, integrating various technologies and building complete chemical complexes is part of their track record. Among the 130 ammonia plants built are some of the largest plants worldwide, frequently setting new industry standards such as the uhde^® dual pressure technology. Besides the fertilizer industry, thyssenkrupp Uhde is also targeting the clean energy market with its clean ammonia technologies and is also completing the value chain by offering ammonia storage and ammonia cracking solutions being relevant for the transition towards clean energy.

The aviation industry plays an essential role in recent initiatives to create sustainable refinery and petrochemical products. Market and legislation are asking more and more for sustainable jet fuel. The demand for hydrocarbon-based aviation fuel, which is currently almost exclusively produced conventionally from crude oil (Jet A1), will increase significantly in the next few years as airline operations continue to grow. At the same time, there is very little potential for other substitutes such as hydrogen operating engines or battery-powered aircraft in the large-capacity aircraft sector.

Sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) is a high potential alternative to fossil based fuel, and can be used as drop-in fuel without major modifications to the engines and infrastructure. Numerous technologies based on renewable or synthetic CO2-based raw material sources have coexisted for years. All current SAFs have in common that they are used in a blend with conventional jet fuel, however, depending on the production route, the drop-in rate is typically limited to a maximum of 50%.

Within the M2SAF project consortium, companies have joined forces with the aim of developing a process that, in addition to producing a 100% drop-in capable SAF, also allows the process route used for this to be as selective as possible, with minimal additional CO2 emissions and with a high degree of integrability into existing structures or new installations. The starting point of the process is sustainably produced methanol.

The 2.5-year development project is being funded by the German Federal Ministry of Digital Affairs and Transport (BMDV) with a total sum of around 5.2 million euros. Activities were successfully launched in August 2022. In addition to catalyst development, process development, plant integration and the design of a demo plant, the project also includes techno-economic and ecological analysis as well as accompanying support for the certification and analysis of the new aviation fuels.

The structure of the consortium combines a wide range of complementary industrial and academic expertise:

As a leading global manufacturer, BASF Process Catalysts develops innovative chemical and refinery catalysts based on the needs of its customers. In the M2SAF project, BASF Process Catalysts is responsible for catalyst development and supply. BASF Process Catalysts draws on its broad portfolio of commercial catalysts and also works with R&D to develop new and innovative solutions for the M2SAF value chain.

As a worldwide operating plant manufacturer, thyssenkrupp Uhde has extensive engineering and commercialization expertise and is well known as provider for its sustainable process technologies. In the M2SAF project thyssenkrupp Uhde is bringing in its experience by developing the technology, optimizing the process steps in terms of reaction control and efficiency, integrating the individual processes into an economical and sustainable overall process, designing the demonstration plant and calculating the total investment cost for a commercial plant.

As a refinery and specialty chemicals site, OMV Germany has many years of experience in the development and implementation of innovative production technologies. Alongside petrochemicals, the production and sale of kerosene (approx. 700 kt/a), including OMV´s own pipeline connection to Munich Airport, is one of the core business areas at the Burghausen site and within the Group. With its know-how on the subject of SAF and in the development and construction of flexible pilot plants - and in particular their integration into existing plant structures through to scaling up to large-scale industrial production - OMV makes a valuable contribution to the M2SAF development team.

DLR has a wide range of experience, methods and international networks in the field of synthetic aviation fuel evaluation. As a member of ASTM, DLR supports the design of new standards (e.g. a 100% SAF). For the approval of new fuels, DLR is the contact for fuel prescreening. In M2SAF, DLR evaluates the approvability of the produced fuels by means of advanced machine learning models as well as the production process by means of techno-economic and ecological analysis.

ASG is a DAkkS-certified testing laboratory for fuel analysis and deals with standard and special analysis for liquid, solid and gaseous fuels. In addition to fossil fuels, the focus is primarily on regenerative fuels, for the specific analysis of which ASG is able to adapt methods such as two-dimensional gas chromatography. For the M2SAF project, these methods will be combined with novel detectors in order to enable the complete characterization of complex substance mixtures including trace components together with established methods. To translate the results into widely available fuel standards, ASG also has years of expertise in national and international standardization bodies.

Contakt BASF Process Catalysts:

• CO₂ abatement (carbon capture & storage) minimizes emissions

• uhde^® ammonia technology enables world-leading single-train capacity of 3,500 t/day

thyssenkrupp Uhde has been selected as technology provider and partner for a new “Clean Ammonia” plant planned by Nutrien, the world's largest provider of crop inputs and services. Subject to Nutrien’s final investment decision, anticipated in 2023, the plant will have a capacity of 3,500 metric tons/day and be built at Nutrien’s Geismar, Louisiana, USA facility. More than 90% of the CO₂ emissions will be captured and stored (Carbon Capture and Storage).

“This partnership marks another important milestone in our commitment to provide solutions to help meet the world’s decarbonization goals through leadership in clean ammonia production,” said Trevor Williams, Interim President, Nitrogen and Phosphate at Nutrien. “We are glad to have an experienced partner with both the technology and proven execution competence to join us on this journey as we strive to sustainably feed and fuel the future.” 

Dr. Cord Landsmann, CEO thyssenkrupp Uhde: “We are excited to be the chosen technology partner for this project and support the execution as well. This is another proof point that the market shifts towards sustainable, clean and green ammonia. And we can deliver easy to install solutions at the necessary scale.”

Climate protection made simple: emission reduction at large scale

The planned clean ammonia plant will be based on autothermal reforming technology (ATR) which allows for a nearly CO₂-free syngas production from natural gas with the help of pure oxygen. Ammonia is produced in a second step, and the CO₂ from this combined reforming is captured and stored. This reduces emissions to a minimum. thyssenkrupp Uhde has over 100 years of experience in engineering and building of chemical plants, more than 2,500 in total. As a global technology plus EPC provider, integrating various technologies and building complete chemical complexes is part of their track record.

Of the 130 ammonia plants worldwide, thyssenkrupp has built some of the largest plants, frequently setting new industry standards such as the uhde^® dual pressure technology. Besides the fertilizer industry, thyssenkrupp Uhde is also targeting the clean energy market with its clean ammonia technologies and is also completing the value chain by offering ammonia storage and ammonia cracking solutions being relevant for the transition towards clean energy.

 About thyssenkrupp Uhde:

thyssenkrupp Uhde combines unique technological expertise and decades of global experience in the engineering, procurement, construction and service of chemical plants. We develop innovative processes and products for a more sustainable future and thus contribute to the long-term success of our customers in almost all areas of the chemical industry. Our portfolio includes leading technologies for the production of basic chemicals, fertilizers and polymers as well as complete value-chains for green hydrogen and sustainable chemicals.

• Environmentally friendly EnviBAT^® technology installed for first time in Japan

• Pad-up rebuild of existing battery

thyssenkrupp Uhde has won an order from Nippon Coke & Engineering Co., Ltd. (NCE) to build and supply a new low-emission, top-charge coke oven battery in Japan. The new battery will be installed at the Kitakyushu works as a replacement for the existing battery 2A. The design will include thyssenkrupp Uhde’s proprietary EnviBAT^® system to reduce emissions during the coking process.

“With this state-of-the-art, low-emission plant, NCE and thyssenkrupp Uhde are delivering an important contribution to making the Japanese coke plant industry more environmentally friendly,” says Michael Petzinna, Executive Director of the Coke Plant & Inorganic Acids operating unit. “We look forward to continuing our collaboration and are proud to be contributing our decades of plant engineering and process know-how to the project.”

The project is part of the modernization of NCE’s coke plants, which involves four coke oven batteries built in the 1970’s being shut down and replaced by new, state-of-the-art, low-emission systems. Worth an amount in the double-digit million-euro range, the contract includes the provision of the technology and engineering, equipment procurement, supervision of construction and commissioning of the new plant.

“In thyssenkrupp we have selected a reliable partner for the EP pad-up project. The company combines extensive plant engineering experience with efficient technologies that meet and exceed the most exacting environmental standards,” said Mr. Hiroaki Matsuoka, Representative Director & President of Nippon Coke & Engineering at the contract signing.

EnviBAT^® individual chamber pressure regulation system reduces emissions

thyssenkrupp Uhde’s EnviBAT^® individual chamber pressure regulation system is already in use in more than 30 batteries and thus over 2,100 coke ovens around the world. Constant, intelligent pressure monitoring and adjustment throughout the coking process minimizes emissions effectively. EnviBAT^® prevents high gas pressures arising in the individual oven chambers of the batteries at the start of the coking process, which in turn almost completely eliminates emissions through all oven closures and the gas collecting main. Further efficient measures such as flexible, spring-loaded door systems, water-sealed standpipe lids and the CONTROLPRESS™ bracing system are all geared toward preventing emissions from the battery and ensuring an optimized operation.

About Nippon Coke & Engineering:

With a company history of more than 130 years Nippon Coke & Engineering’s mission is to provide a stable supply of high-grade coke for the steel industry. In addition, the company is developing businesses in non-coke areas such as sales of fuel, resource recycling, sales of machinery and equipment including the most advanced powder and granular machines in the industry, real estate, logistics, IT services, and more.

• uhde^® ammonia technology enables world’s largest single-train capacity of 3,500 t/day

• CO₂ abatement in the process (carbon capture & storage) enhances sustainability

thyssenkrupp Uhde has won a new contract from its long-standing customer and QatarEnergy’s affiliate, Qatar Fertiliser Company (QAFCO), for the engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning of a world-scale ammonia plant, capable of producing its full output as Blue Ammonia. The contract was signed on August 31, 2022, and the plant is planned to be completed by the first quarter of 2026. The project is realized in a consortium with Consolidated Contractors Company (CCC), a leading construction company in the Middle East. Thanks to the uhde^® ammonia technology, the single-train plant will have a record capacity of 3,500 metric tons/day. This further enhances thyssenkrupp Uhde’s strong position in the mega-scale market.

Martina Merz, CEO thyssenkrupp AG: “thyssenkrupp has a long-standing business relationship with Qatar, and we are delighted to sign this contract today. With our proven technology and innovation expertise we are laying the foundation towards sustainable solutions jointly with our customers.”

Dr. Cord Landsmann, CEO thyssenkrupp Uhde: “The ongoing trust of our esteemed customer clearly shows that we can deliver solutions for the rising demand in clean ammonia, be it blue or green, be it as fertilizer or as transport medium for hydrogen. With our well-proven uhde^® dual pressure technology, clean ammonia can be produced in large quantities and we are very proud to be QatarEnergy’s and QAFCO’s partner in this lighthouse project. We are ready for the green transformation.”

Leading technologies for emission reduction all along the value chain

thyssenkrupp Uhde has over 100 years of experience in engineering and building of chemical plants, more than 2,500 in total. Among the 130 ammonia plants built are some of the largest plants worldwide, frequently setting new industry standards such as the uhde® dual pressure technology. Besides the fertilizer industry, thyssenkrupp Uhde is also targeting the clean energy market with its clean ammonia technologies and is also completing the value chain by offering ammonia storage and ammonia cracking solutions being relevant for the transition towards clean energy.

In the fertilizer industry, thyssenkrupp Uhde is a full solutions provider with highest standards and leading technologies supporting the move towards more sustainability. Slow-release technologies such as urease inhibitors or environmental-friendly PLA-coating help to meet highest emission standards. Scrubbing units or ACT (ammonia convert technology) in UFT^® Fluid Bed Urea Granulation minimize dust and ammonia emissions, and EnviNOx^® reactors in nitric acid plants enable a nearly complete removal of NO_x and N₂O emissions. All these technologies are tailor-made to customer’s requirements and are offered in fully flexible execution types covering scopes from pure licensing to full EPC.

About Qatar Fertiliser Company (QAFCO):

Founded in 1969, QAFCO has evolved steadily over the past five decades as a world-class fertilizer producer. The country's first large-scale venture in the petrochemical sector, QAFCO was established to diversify the economy and utilize the nation's enormous gas reserve. Today, QAFCO is owned 100% by QatarEnergy’s downstream investment arm, Industries Qatar (IQ).

About Consolidated Contractors Company (CCC):