OCI N.V. (OCI) and Linde plc (Linde), a global industrial gases and engineering company, announced a partnership where Linde will supply clean hydrogen and nitrogen to OCI’s new blue ammonia facility under development in Beaumont, Texas, under a long-term agreement.
Linde will build, own, and operate an on-site complex that includes autothermal reforming with carbon capture, plus a large air separation plant. The new complex will be integrated into Linde’s Gulf Coast industrial gas infrastructure. It will supply clean hydrogen and nitrogen to OCI’s 1.1-MTPA blue ammonia plant, the first greenfield blue ammonia facility of this scale to come onstream in the United States.
Linde will supply OCI with clean hydrogen by sequestering more than 1.7 MTPA of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions each year. OCI will upgrade the hydrogen to produce blue ammonia, which allows OCI 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 US$1.8 billion, and OCI’s total investment cost is expected to be below US$1 billion, including spending on upsized utilities and available land to allow for doubling to 2.2-MTPA capacity in the future. The project is expected to start up in 2025. “The Beaumont facility will allow us to build and strengthen our blue ammonia and clean fuels platform, supplying both the United States and export market with blue ammonia, an ideal solution to decarbonize hard-to-abate sectors such as agriculture, power, and marine fuels at a competitive cost,” said Ahmed El-Hoshy, chief executive officer of OCI. “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.”
“Linde’s capabilities are already enabling the transition to a low-carbon intensity economy,” said Sanjiv Lamba, chief executive officer of Linde. “Our strategy is to support decarbonization by working with off-takers like OCI to supply low-carbon industrial gases safely and reliably 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.”
