Japan’s LNG buyer and power firm Jera will buy ammonia from compatriot trading house Mitsui & Co to supply it to its coal-fueled Hekinan thermal power station as part of ammonia co-firing trials.
In a statement released last week, Jera did not reveal any additional details regarding the supply deal.
It only said that the supplies will start from fiscal 2023.
Jera and compatriot IHI Corporation started supplying small amounts of ammonia to the Hekinan power plant back in 2021 as part of a demonstration project.
The project previously aimed to achieve an ammonia co-firing rate of 20 percent at the 1 GW Hekinan power station Unit 4 in fiscal 2024.
However, last year the partners decided to move up the start of large-volume ammonia co-firing to fiscal 2023, ending March 2024.
Jera said this project is “significant as it would be the first step toward a rapid and low-cost led decarbonization of thermal power generations.”
The joint venture of Tepco and Chubu Electric added that this ammonia SPA enables the firm to secure a “stable ammonia supply and will contribute to the advancement of the project.”
Mitsui said in a separate statement that it currently supplies about 700,000 tons of ammonia per year, primarily in Asian markets.
The trading house is Japan’s leading importer of ammonia and supplies it mainly to users in the chemicals and fertilizer industry.
