CF Industries Holdings, the world’s largest producer of ammonia, has formed a joint venture (JV) with JERA Co. (JERA), Japan’s largest energy company, and Mitsui & Co. (Mitsui), a leading global investment and trading company, for the construction, production and offtake of low-carbon ammonia.

The joint venture will construct at CF Industries’ Blue Point Complex in Louisiana an autothermal reforming (ATR) ammonia production facility with a carbon dioxide (CO2) dehydration and compression unit at the site to prepare captured CO2 for transportation and sequestration. The estimated cost for the ammonia production facility is approximately $4 billion, which will be funded by each partner according to their ownership percentage.

The low-carbon ammonia production facility will have an annual nameplate capacity of approximately 1.4 million metric tons, which would be the largest ammonia production facility by nameplate capacity in the world. Production of low-carbon ammonia is expected to begin in 2029.

CF Industries will build and operate scalable infrastructure at the Blue Point site to supply the ammonia production facility with services, including product storage and loading. CF Industries will invest approximately $550 million for these facilities and receive ongoing services revenue from the joint venture ammonia production facility.

CF Industries will be responsible for the operation and maintenance of the ammonia production facility and product offtake will be handled independently by the three companies according to their ownership percentage.

Upon formation, CF Industries will hold 40% ownership, JERA 35% ownership, and Mitsui 25% ownership in the joint venture.

“CF Industries is proud to partner with global leaders JERA and Mitsui to build the leading low-carbon ammonia production facility in the world,” said Tony Will, president and chief executive officer, CF Industries Holdings, Inc. “Our joint venture represents tangible progress towards building a reliable and affordable low-carbon ammonia value chain to meet what we expect to be robust global demand for low-carbon ammonia for both traditional and new applications.”

Yukio Kani, JERA Global CEO and Chair said, “Collaboration and partnership are at the heart of JERA’s strategy to achieve our decarbonization goals. This Blue Point project is a testament to the strong alliances we are building to advance low-carbon solutions. The U.S. remains a cornerstone market for JERA, and this initiative underscores our long-term commitment to expanding our presence with diversified and sustainable energy projects. As we move forward, we will continue to accelerate the availability of low-carbon fuels and develop their supply chains, driving meaningful progress toward a more stable and cleaner energy future.”

Kenichi Hori, President and Chief Executive Officer of Mitsui & Co., Ltd, said, “We are excited to announce the achievement of this significant milestone together with CF Industries and JERA to invest in this large-scale low-carbon ammonia project in Louisiana. Mitsui will establish a low-carbon ammonia value-chain worldwide by leveraging its presence in the US gas value chain from natural gas to chemicals including this project, and our strength and track record in the global trading of ammonia. We aim to lower carbon emissions across various industries through investment in projects of this kind.”

The joint venture has awarded the engineering, procurement, and module fabrication contract to Technip Energies, which will perform engineering and fabrication of the equipment and modules required for the low-carbon ammonia production facility. Technip Energies will work with Topsoe, to which the joint venture awarded the process license for their low carbon (blue) SynCOR ATR ammonia plant technology.