OCI partners up with Linde for its blue ammonia facility in US Gulf Coast

OCI, a global producer and distributor of hydrogen-based products, and Linde, a global industrial gases and engineering company, have signed a long-term agreement under which Linde will supply clean hydrogen and nitrogen to OCI’s new blue ammonia facility under development in Beaumont, Texas, US.

OCI said that Linde will build, own, and operate an on-site complex which will include auto thermal reforming with carbon capture, plus a large air separation plant, and this new complex will be integrated into Linde’s extensive Gulf Coast industrial gas infrastructure. Linde will supply clean hydrogen and nitrogen to OCI’s 1.1 million tonnes per annum blue ammonia plant.

OCI informed that Linde will supply OCI with clean hydrogen, by sequestering more than 1.7 million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions each year. OCI will then upgrade the hydrogen to produce blue ammonia, which allows it to materially reduce the carbon footprint of its downstream customers along the value chain across a wide range of industries.

Linde’s total investment will be approximately $1.8 billion, and OCI’s total investment cost is expected to be below $1 billion, including spending on upsized utilities and available land to allow for doubling to 2.2 mtpa capacity in the future, OCI noted.

The OCI project is expected to start up in 2025.

Ahmed El-Hoshy, CEO of OCI, said: “The Beaumont facility will allow us to build and strengthen our world-leading blue ammonia and clean fuels platform, supplying both the US and export market with blue ammonia, an ideal solution to decarbonise hard-to-abate sectors such as agriculture, power, and marine fuels at a competitive cost.”

“Linde’s expertise in managing large-scale and complex engineering projects, and safely and reliably delivering industrial gases, made it a solid choice as a partner for this project.”

Sanjiv Lamba, CEO of Linde, commented: “Linde’s capabilities are already enabling the transition to a low-carbon intensity economy. Our strategy is to support decarbonisation by working with off-takers, like OCI, to safely and reliably supply low-carbon industrial gases at scale.”

“With Linde’s track record in successfully executing complex projects, its extensive pipeline network, and support from the US Inflation Reduction Act, the company is well positioned to secure many more clean energy projects.”

In 2022, engineering company KBR secured a technology contract for the OCI project.