SK wants to import the blue ammonia into South Korea to support its reduction of industrial emissions. Blue ammonia is produced by combining nitrogen and hydrogen derived from natural gas feedstocks with the CO₂ by-product captured and sequestered for permanent storage.

When used with coal in a co-fired power plant, blue ammonia can reduce the facility’s total emissions as the ammonia emits no additional CO₂. “Blue ammonia will replace conventional coal as a main fuel and accelerate the energy transition with less carbon footprint and cleaner power,” SK said.

The Seoul-based group is planning to introduce blue ammonia as part of the South Korean government’s program to replace coal and LNG with ammonia and hydrogen in power generation to drastically cut CO₂ emissions. 

“Starting with the Blue Ammonia collaboration, we look forward to working with ExxonMobil and expand the partnership into other lower carbon value chains,” said Young-Wook Lee, CEO of SK Inc. Materials.

In January, ExxonMobil announced it had awarded a contract to Technip Energies for front-end engineering and design (FEED) work on the Baytown project. It expects to take a final investment decision by 2024. Startup is anticipated in 2027 or 2028.

Author: Elaine Burridge, Freelance Journalist