JERA Contracts 4 Ammonia Carriers
JERA Co Inc has signed time charter agreements under which fellow Japanese companies Mitsui OSK Lines Ltd (MOL) and NYK Group will each provide 2 fuel ammonia tankers to support the Blue Point Project in Louisiana, United States.
Last year JERA, CF Industries Holdings Inc and Mitsui & Co Ltd sanctioned the ammonia production project, which has a nameplate capacity of 1.4 million metric tons a year.
The $4 billion project, to rise at fertilizer maker CF Industries' Blue Point Complex in Ascension Parish, is targeted to start production 2029, as announced by the partners April 8, 2025. The facility will use natural gas feedstock.
The contracts mark "the world’s first long-term deployment of VLGC [very large gas carrier]-size carriers for ammonia transportation", integrated power company JERA said in a press release.
"By securing the transportation component of the value chain, the agreements mark another important milestone toward establishing Japan’s first commercial-scale low-carbon ammonia value chain", JERA said.
The ammonia will be used at JERA’s 35-year-old Hekinan Thermal Power Station in Aichi Prefecture, which has a coal-based generation capacity of 4.1 gigawatts. That will enable "commercial-scale ammonia substitution combustion with a 20 percent heat value ratio", JERA said.
"Increasing carrier capacity is critical to procuring and transporting large volumes of low-carbon ammonia at a more competitive cost, particularly for use in power generation as well as by other commercial and industrial customers", it said.
JERA senior managing executive Irtiza Sayyed said of the time charter deals, "Together, we are laying the foundation for a commercially viable low-carbon ammonia supply chain which connects production, transportation, and end use, contributing to Japan’s decarbonization goals".
The ammonia carriers from MOL, to be built by Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd, are scheduled to be delivered in the first half of 2027, MOL said separately.
"In addition to its use in power generation and as marine fuel, ammonia - recognized as a next-generation clean energy source that does not emit CO2 at the point of combustion - is expected to play an important role in a wide range of fields, including as a hydrogen carrier, resulting in significantly higher demand", MOL noted.
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