JERA Americas, ConocoPhillips and Uniper initiatives to source low-carbon hydrogen/ammonia supply from US Gulf Coast
JERA and Uniper announced a non-binding Heads of Agreement together with ConocoPhillips, for the sale of ammonia to Uniper, moving their cooperation on the development of a low-carbon ammonia production facility on the U.S. Gulf Coast to the next level. The announcement builds on a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) the parties signed in September 2022 to assess the potential for developing ammonia production facilities in the region. The project would have an initial production capacity of 2 MTPA of low-carbon ammonia with potential for expansion in the future.
ConocoPhillips and JERA Americas (a wholly owned subsidiary of JERA Co., Inc.) plan to jointly develop the production facility project which would accelerate production and supply of low-carbon fuel to markets in the U.S., Europe, Japan, and greater Asia. The project will also include evaluation and development of carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) facilities. The proposed ammonia production facility would produce hydrogen and convert it into clean ammonia for transport to markets abroad with a target of achieving first commercial deliveries by the end of the decade.
Uniper separately has also announced its plans for a "Green Wilhelmshaven" with its combination of hydrogen imports and production to create a common European hydrogen market and has already submitted the project to the German Federal Ministry of Economics as an "Important Project of Common European Interest" (IPCEI). IPCEIs are intended to promote integrated projects along the entire hydrogen value chain.
JERA Americas is the Houston-based subsidiary of JERA, which stands for Japan’s Energy for a New Era, and is a joint venture of two major companies that produce about 30% of the electricity in Japan (TEPCO Fuel & Power Incorporated and Chubu Electric Power Company.) JERA is an energy company with global reach that has strength in the entire energy supply chain, from participation in LNG upstream projects and fuel procurement, through fuel transportation to power generation. JERA continues to move forward with its plans to lower its carbon footprint in Japan by using ammonia to displace coal in its fleet of modern coal power plants. JERA is also working with other utilities in Japan, Korea and across Asia to create low carbon supply alternatives and deliver modern technology solutions to global energy issues.
Düsseldorf-based Uniper is an international energy company with activities in more than 40 countries. The company and its roughly 7,000 employees make an important contribution to supply security in Europe, particularly in its core markets of Germany, the United Kingdom, Sweden, and the Netherlands. Uniper’s operations encompass power generation in Europe, global energy trading, and a broad gas portfolio. Uniper procures gas, including liquefied natural gas (LNG), and other energy sources on global markets. The company owns and operates gas storage facilities with a total capacity of more than 7 billion cubic meters.
