US fertilizer producer LSB Industries launches green ammonia project

HOUSTON (ICIS)–US fertilizer producer LSB Industries announced that it has entered into agreements with thyssenkrupp Uhde USA and Bloom Energy to develop a project to produce approximately 30,000 tonnes of green ammonia per year at LSB’s Pryor, Oklahoma facility.

The company said thyssenkrupp Uhde will develop the engineering design to convert a small portion of Pryor’s existing conventional ammonia capacity into green ammonia.

Pending the results of the feasibility study currently underway, and subsequent board approval, the project will be constructed in two phases with the first part having Bloom supplying a 10 megawatt (MW) solid oxide electrolyzer.

This will be followed by the installation of an additional 20MW alkaline electrolyzer unit, which will be sourced from a leading manufacturer.

Bloom will own, operate and maintain the solid oxide electrolyzer that, once in operation, will be the largest of its kind in the world.

Once the second electrolyzer is installed and operational, Pryor will be the largest green ammonia production site in North America.

“We are very excited to partner with Bloom Energy and thyssenkrupp Uhde in taking our first step to becoming a leading supplier of zero carbon or green ammonia in a unique facility that will have two electrolyzer technologies operating side by side. We believe that being an early entrant into the green ammonia space will allow us to become a leading player as the market evolves,” said Mark Behrman, LSB president, and CEO.

“This project is very important for LSB and our partners because, in addition to its initial environmental benefit, it provides a learning opportunity. With two electrolyzer technologies working together in a real-world application, we can learn how to effectively develop projects and operate facilities in this exciting new environment.”

Behrman said the company views this project as their first critical step in becoming a major facilitator and participant in the green ammonia market.

Green ammonia is produced by extracting hydrogen from water using an electrolyzer powered by a renewable energy source, such as solar or wind. Since no natural gas or other fossil fuels are used as the feedstock to the ammonia production process, nor as the power source, the end-product has no associated carbon emissions.

LSB said the green hydrogen produced from the electrolyzers as part of the ammonia production process is expected to qualify for federal incentive programs such as the production and investment tax credits currently under evaluation by the US Congress.