- NextChem to start feasibility study for a 240 mtpd green ammonia plant to be located in Iowa
- MET Development to act as co-developer of the project, which will be based on Stamicarbon’s Green Ammonia technology
Milan, 28 September 2021 – Maire Tecnimont S.p.A. announces that its subsidiaries NextChem, MET Development and Stamicarbon have reached an agreement with US-based Greenfield Nitrogen LLC, to develop the first dedicated green ammonia plant in the US Midwest. As part of the agreement, NextChem will start a feasibility study for the 240 metric tons per day green ammonia project, utilizing renewable energy as feedstock via the intermediate production of green hydrogen. MET Development will assist Greenfield Nitrogen in the development of the project. The plant will be designed utilizing the best available technologies for the green hydrogen production together with the ammonia technology that will be provided by Stamicarbon, which earlier this year launched its new STAMI Green Ammonia technology.
The project is the first of a series of green ammonia facilities that Greenfield Nitrogen is interested to strategically develop in the US Corn Belt. The plant and storage facility, which will be located near Garner, Iowa, will be powered by local renewable sources and will supply the ammonia to the local market, which traditionally is a large ammonia-consuming market.
The green ammonia plant will strengthen the development of the low carbon industry in the region and is expected to save over 166,000 tons of CO2 emissions per annum. The production of around 83,000 tons of ammonia per annum will reduce the region’s dependency on the ammonia currently imported from abroad.
Pierroberto Folgiero, Chief Executive Officer of Maire Tecnimont Group commented: “We are very pleased that Greenfield Nitrogen has chosen Maire Tecnimont as their partner of choice for this exciting project. The combination of co-developer, technology provider and EPC contractor makes Maire Tecnimont a unique player in the green ammonia market, an area that will be vital to industrialize the on-going energy transition through green hydrogen. Thanks to Greenfield Nitrogen’s experience and local presence we expect this first project to pave the way for other green industrial initiatives to come”.
Linda Thrasher, President, Greenfield Nitrogen, LLC commented: “This partnership represents a collaboration of strengths. As a development partner, Maire Tecnimont and its subsidiaries bring decades of expertise in successfully designing and executing nitrogen projects as well as creating new technology, including state-of-the-art zero-carbon facilities. Greenfield’s development expertise, operational experience, and market knowledge align well and position both companies to play a critical role in meeting the world’s decarbonization goals”.
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About Green Ammonia
A traditional ammonia plant converts fossil fuel and steam into so-called syngas, a gas consisting of hydrogen and carbon monoxide, through a method known as ‘steam reforming’. Hydrogen is one of the two components from which ammonia is produced, Nitrogen being the other one, which is the dominant component in the air that is taken into the plant (with or without pre-treatment). Ammonia is synthesized from hydrogen and nitrogen. The carbon monoxide is converted to carbon dioxide and, if not used for urea production, is often emitted into the atmosphere, as a greenhouse gas, contributing to global warming. The presence of carbon as a result of using fossil fuels makes the ammonia produced in this way often referred to as “grey” ammonia. By eliminating the use of fossil fuels, an environmentally-friendly process is created in which hydrogen is made via water electrolysis instead of the steam reforming of fossil fuels. The energy needed comes from renewable, sustainable resources, such as wind or solar energy. The output is carbon-free ammonia, also known as Green Ammonia, the primary feedstock for green fertilizers.
Green Ammonia can also be used as a renewable energy carrier (e.g. in shipping fuel) or as a renewable feedstock for other processes. The Stami Green Ammonia technology offers a total solution for carbon-free and sustainable ammonia production.
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Maire Tecnimont S.p.A.
Maire Tecnimont S.p.A., listed on the Milan Stock Exchange, heads an industrial group which leads the global natural resource conversion market (downstream oil & gas plant engineering, with technological and executive expertise). Its subsidiary NextChem operates in the field of green chemicals and technologies in support of the energy transition. The Maire Tecnimont Group operates in approx. 45 countries, through approx. 50 operative companies and about 9,100 people.
For further information: www.mairetecnimont.com.
For more information on Stami Green Ammonia: www.stamicarbon.com/green-ammonia
Group Media Relations
Carlo Nicolais, Tommaso Verani
+393666494966
media.relations@mairetecnimont.it
Investor Relations
Riccardo Guglielmetti
Tel +39 02 6313-7823
investor-relations@mairetecnimont.it
About Greenfield Nitrogen, LLC
Greenfield Nitrogen is a U.S. based company that is developing, and will operate, a network of green hydrogen and ammonia facilities that are strategically positioned in the Midwest to serve the emerging renewable energy markets. The company’s first facility near Garner, Iowa maximizes the abundant renewable energy as well as the strong ammonia market and the developing green hydrogen market. Greenfield Nitrogen was founded by a team with deep expertise in project development, agriculture, operations, and engineering. Local farmers and businesses invested seed capital to launch the company.
Greenfiled Nitrogen LLC contacts:
Linda Thrasher
1-952-270-0429
Linda@GreenfieldNitrogen.com