Pembina Pipeline Corp. has signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with Marubeni Corp. to progress an end-to-end, low-carbon ammonia supply chain from Western Canada to Japan and other Asian markets. The project includes the joint development of a world-scale, low-carbon hydrogen and ammonia plant to be sited on Pembina-owned lands adjacent to its Redwater Complex in the Alberta Industrial Heartland near Fort Saskatchewan, Alta.
The companies have completed initial feasibility studies for the plant and anticipate a design capacity of up to 185,000 tonnes/year (tpy) of hydrogen, which will be converted into about 1 million tpy of low-carbon ammonia. They plan to capture “a significant amount of the CO2 emissions” with an eye towards integrated transportation and sequestration on the proposed Alberta Carbon Grid being developed by Pembina and TC Energy Corp. (OGJ Online, Oct. 19, 2022). Ammonia would be transported via rail to Canada's West Coast for shipment.
Under the MOA, Pembina and Marubeni will focus on completing preliminary front-end engineering and design (pre-FEED), engagement with various stakeholders, including governments in Canada and Japan, and beginning talks with potential customers. Pre-FEED is expected to be completed by early 2024.
Pembina expects demand for low-carbon ammonia in Japan and other Asian markets to grow substantially, citing its efficiency as a carrier of hydrogen and use as a low-carbon fuel source.
The new project would potentially serve as an anchor development to advance the Pembina Low Carbon Complex (PLCC) planned for more than 2,000 undeveloped acres in the Alberta Industrial Heartland. Pembina describes PLCC as focused on “attracting and developing investment for innovative and emerging energy transition technologies, sustainable fuels, and chemicals, specifically low-carbon hydrogen and hydrogen carriers such as ammonia and methanol.” Within PLCC, Pembina would lease land to third parties and provide infrastructure, logistics, and shared services to tenants, including carbon capture and sequestration, depending on their needs.
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