Key Takeaways
- CF Industries and POET have announced a collaboration to pilot low-carbon ammonia fertilizer.
- The initiative aims to reduce the carbon intensity of corn production and ethanol.
- Low-carbon ammonia applications are targeted for fall 2024 and spring 2025.
- The project includes developing a supply chain to track, validate, and certify carbon intensity reductions.
- The partnership supports sustainable agricultural practices and low-carbon fuel standards.
Collaboration Announcement
CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: CF), a leading global manufacturer of hydrogen and nitrogen products and the world’s largest producer of ammonia, and POET LLC, the world’s largest producer of biofuel and a global leader in sustainable bioproducts, have announced a collaboration. This partnership will pilot the use of low-carbon ammonia fertilizer to reduce the carbon intensity of corn production and ethanol. The demand for ethanol with lower carbon intensity is expected to rise significantly to meet low-carbon fuel standards.
Importance of Low-Carbon Ammonia
Ammonia is widely used as a direct application fertilizer for U.S. corn production, but its conventional production process is emissions-intensive. This makes ammonia production a significant contributor to the lifecycle carbon intensity of corn and ethanol production. Utilizing low-carbon ammonia in corn farming can reduce the carbon intensity of ethanol by up to 10 percent. The companies plan to start applying low-carbon ammonia in fall 2024, with further applications in spring 2025, aiming for a first crop harvest in fall 2025.
Statements from Leadership
“We are pleased to collaborate with POET on this important step forward in developing a low-carbon ethanol value chain that links low-carbon fertilizers to farmers to ethanol production,” said Bert Frost, executive vice president, sales, supply chain and market development at CF Industries. “Fertilizers manufactured with a lower carbon intensity provide a quantifiable and certifiable method of decarbonizing bioethanol inputs. We look forward to demonstrating these benefits not just for ethanol production but for corn growers as well.”
“At POET, we have always striven to bring new value to our producers and our partnership with CF Industries continues this mission,” said Christian McIlvain, President of POET Grain. “We want to prepare and educate our corn producers on the realities of the impact of the carbon in their grain. This initiative not only gives producers a low-carbon ammonia option but also provides the opportunity to educate them on their farm’s carbon score and what that could mean for their grain value.”
Developing the Low-Carbon Fertilizer Supply Chain
The companies plan to jointly develop a low-carbon fertilizer supply chain that tracks, validates, and certifies carbon intensity reduction from low-carbon ammonia manufacturing at CF Industries’ Donaldsonville Complex in Louisiana, through ethanol production at POET’s locations in Bingham Lake, MN, Emmetsburg, IA, Fairmont, NE, and North Manchester, IN. This initiative includes implementing supply plans with fertilizer retailers serving farms that supply corn to these POET bioprocessing plants and creating monetization opportunities for farmers who use this low-carbon fertilizer.
Leveraging Green Ammonia Production
For the demonstration project’s fall 2024 and spring 2025 applications, CF Industries will leverage green ammonia produced at its Donaldsonville Complex. Green ammonia is produced with hydrogen sourced from an electrolysis-based process that emits no carbon dioxide, making it identical to conventional ammonia but with significantly lower carbon emissions. CF Industries has recently installed a 20MW electrolyzer at the Donaldsonville Complex, with start-up imminent, and plans to purchase renewable energy certificates to enable green ammonia production. Additional low-carbon ammonia will be available at the Donaldsonville Complex beginning in 2025 with the start of a large-scale carbon capture and sequestration project.
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