MOVES: LSB Industries names inaugural director of clean energy

LONDON (ICIS)–US fertilizer and chemicals producer LSB Industries on Tuesday announced that Hector Miravete will join as its first director of clean energy, effective 3 May 2021.

The newly created position is intended to lead the development and execution of LSB’s recently launched green ammonia initiative, the Oklahoma City-headquartered company said.

“The global focus on reducing carbon emissions is intensifying and green ammonia has the potential to play an important role in this critical environmental objective,” said Mark Behrman, LSB’s president and CEO.

“Hector’s extensive experience, in both commercial and operational roles, makes him highly qualified to lead our efforts in assessing the opportunity in front of us, refining our strategy and deploying our resources to enter the green ammonia market in a meaningful way.”

LSB did not disclose further details about its recently launched green ammonia programme, but said Miravete joins from Houston-based engineering, procurement and construction major, KBR.

Since 2016, he served as global technology business director for the nitrogen-based technology portfolio, which included nitric acid, ammonium nitrate (AN) and urea ammonium nitrate (UAN) manufacturing technologies, LSB noted.

Green ammonia is produced via renewable feedstock, specifically hydrogen from water electrolysis and nitrogen separated from the air, rather than from natural gas or coal, resulting in a zero CO2 emission process.

Companies around the world are investing tens of billions of dollars in green ammonia projects, with projects earmarked for Saudi Arabia, Australia, Chile, Spain, the US and NW Europe, among others.

LSB Industries manufactures and sells chemical products for the agricultural, mining, and industrial markets, with plants located in Alabama, Arkansas and Oklahoma.

The firm also operates a facility for a global chemical company in Baytown, Texas.