UPDATED: 11/13/2017 — see Change Log
OWNER: Pacific Coast Fertilizer (joint venture)
PROJECT: Brownfield ammonia plant
SUMMARY STATUS: Planning Phase
First announced in September 2016, Pacific Coast Fertilizer's plans to build a new ammonia plant have been in development for some time and the joint venture includes heavyweight industrial partners. In late 2017, the city began initial work on an environmental impact statement; the start of construction is still years away.
UPDATED: 04/18/2018 — see Change Log
OWNER: Philipp Brothers Fertilizer (Phibro LLC / Energy Arbitrage Partners)
PROJECT: Ammonia plant conversion
SUMMARY STATUS: Planning Phase
In January 2016, investors announced plans to re-establish Phibro, the storied commodities trader. Five months later, in May 2016, Phibro announced its intention to purchase the gasification units of a decommissioned "clean coal" power plant, which it would use to produce ammonia from petroleum coke. Since then there has been scant news, except of preparations for debt financing and staff hires, but project developers describe solid progress. In April 2018, the project submitted its air permit application.
UPDATED: 05/10/2018 — see Change Log
OWNER: Grannus LLC
PROJECT: Greenfield polygeneration plant
SUMMARY STATUS: Planning phase
Grannus has been working to commercialize its polygeneration "Eureaka Process" since 2013, when it was a runner-up for Sustainability at the Cleantech Open. In 2015, the company closed its Series A financing, to fund engineering and feasibility work on its commercial-scale demonstration plant in California. In early 2016, Grannus awarded the engineering design contract but then, in late 2016, gave the contracts to other companies. In 2018, the EPA designated Grannus's hydrogen and ammonia production technology as "BACT."
UPDATED: 11/28/2018 — see Change Log
OWNER: Fortigen Geneva LLC (Tetrad Corporation)
PROJECT: Greenfield ammonia plant
SUMMARY STATUS: Operational
In January 2018, Fortigen began operations at its small ammonia plant outside Geneva, NE, to supply fertilizer to local farmers. The project broke ground in March 2016 and had been expected to start-up by Fall 2017, but this schedule became delayed when the storage tank was damaged during testing, due to "human error." There is already talk of expanding the site to add downstream products (urea and DEF), as well as a second ammonia plant.
UPDATED: 04/01/2017 — see Change Log
OWNER: TopChem Pollock LLC (Investimus Foris / ICOR)
PROJECT: Brownfield ammonia plant
SUMMARY STATUS: Cancelled
In July 2015, the Louisiana governor's office announced that Lithuanian investors intended to build an ammonia plant in Pollock, by retrofitting an idled biodiesel plant. The air permit was issued in December 2016, disclosing project details. Construction was going to begin in 2017 for start-up in 2019 but, in April 2017, the project was "put on hold indefinitely."
OWNER: Midwest Ammonia Inc (Midwest BioEnergy Ltd)
PROJECT: Brownfield ammonia plant
SUMMARY STATUS: Planning Phase
Midwest BioEnergy is planning a series of small waste-to-ammonia plants at municipal and industrial sites in the heart of the ammonia fertilizer market. The Monmouth plant will be the "proof of concept." Some equity in place; debt financing secured, contingent upon equity investment.
UPDATED: 10/03/2017 — see Change Log
OWNER: Gulf Coast Ammonia LLC (Agrifos Partners LLC / Borealis)
PROJECT: Brownfield ammonia plant
SUMMARY STATUS: Planning Phase
In May 2015, Agrifos and Borealis announced their agreement to develop a "world-scale" ammonia plant, for start-up in "early 2019." Work has yet to begin, so that schedule is implausible. The location was never specified, but was to be on the Gulf Coast, Texas. The plant was going to use hydrogen feedstock. Borealis intended to have a significant equity stake and a long-term off-take contract for 40% of the ammonia.
OWNER: Geneva Nitrogen LLC
PROJECT: Brownfield ammonia plant
SUMMARY STATUS: Cancelled
After preliminary studies through 2013, this small ammonia plant was cancelled. Geneva Nitrogen continues to purchase ammonia for upgrade to ammonium nitrate.
UPDATED: 11/05/2015 — see Change Log
OWNER: BioNitrogen (BioNitrogen Holdings Corp)
PROJECT: Greenfield urea plant
SUMMARY STATUS: Financing Phase - in Bankruptcy Protection
Announced in March 2014, county financing incentives approved July and August 2014. This site may yet be developed as BioNitrogen's proof-of-concept, however, BioNitrogen entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in November 2015.
UPDATED: 11/05/2015 — see Change Log
OWNER: BioNitrogen (BioNitrogen Holdings Corp)
PROJECT: Greenfield urea plant
SUMMARY STATUS: Financing Phase - in Bankruptcy Protection
Ribbon cutting ceremony in May 2014. Awaiting announcement of bond placement and date for start of construction. This site may yet be developed as BioNitrogen's proof-of-concept, however, BioNitrogen entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in November 2015.
UPDATED: 10/16/2017 — see Change Log
OWNER: AM Agrigen Industries
PROJECT: Greenfield ammonia-urea plant
SUMMARY STATUS: Planning Phase
Greenfield ammonia plant: in development since 2012, permits approved in 2015, delayed, then completely redesigned in 2016. Now awaiting EPC announcement and revised budget and schedule. AM Agrigen has made no public announcements but permit documents reveal changing scale and technology licensors.
UPDATED: 07/31/2018 — see Change Log
OWNER: Yara Freeport LLC DBA Texas Ammonia (Yara / BASF joint venture)
PROJECT: Brownfield ammonia plant
SUMMARY STATUS: Operational
In April 2018, Yara announced that the Freeport ammonia plant was operational. Start-up was delayed from the original 2017 target, in part by Hurricane Harvey. Yara and BASF held a groundbreaking ceremony in July 2015, five months after the companies confirmed their investment decision and announced details of their joint venture relationship, the EPC contract award, and a 20-year feedstock supply contract.
UPDATED: 06/17/2014 — see Change Log
OWNER: Invista (Koch Industries)
PROJECT: Brownfield ammonia plant
SUMMARY STATUS: Abandoned
Invista cancelled this project because it saw no benefit to producing its own ammonia instead of buying it on the open market. Apparently they expect the price of ammonia to fall when the other new plants start up.
UPDATED: 01/11/2018 — see Change Log
OWNER: Simplot Phosphates (J.R. Simplot)
PROJECT: Brownfield ammonia plant
SUMMARY STATUS: Operational
Simplot began building its new ammonia plant, adjacent to its existing phosphate fertilizer plant, in October 2014. The project was initially scheduled to be complete in Q3 2016, but delays pushed this back. The new plant was mechanically complete in March 2017 and became fully operational in September 2017. Simplot's investment is "one of the largest in company history," and makes it self-sufficient for ammonia.
UPDATED: 01/23/2018 — see Change Log
OWNER: Mississippi Power Company (Southern Company)
PROJECT: Greenfield power plant, ammonia byproduct
SUMMARY STATUS: Operational / Abandoned
The Kemper County Energy Facility, a 582 MW power plant, was one of the US DOE's flagship "clean coal" projects. It would have produced ammonia as a byproduct of its coal-to-syngas process. The plant has been producing power from natural gas since August 2014, but experienced profound delays and budget overruns with the coal portion, which now appears to have been abandoned, with layoffs at the adjacent coal mine.
UPDATED: 05/01/2017 — see Change Log
OWNER: Magnida (Magnolia Nitrogen Idaho LLC / Egypt Kuwait Holding Company)
PROJECT: Greenfield nitrogen fertilizer plant
SUMMARY STATUS:
In September 2016, local news reports implied that Magnida was winding down. The project was first announced in 2013, as a revitalized fertilizer version of a power plant initially proposed in 2005. Magnida's equity was originally committed in full, but became uncertain when costs escalated and the project met with resistance, finally the sponsor pulled out and new equity partners could not be found.
UPDATED: 02/01/2018 — see Change Log
OWNER: Nutrien
PROJECT: Nitrogen plant
SUMMARY STATUS: Operational
Ammonia production began at Augusta in 1964. The present plant started up in 1977, with revamps and expansions in 1996 and 2012, and a significant ammonia expansion during turnaround in 2016. In January 2018, Nutrien was formed through a "merger of equals" between Agrium and PotashCorp that was originally announced in September 2016.
UPDATED: 10/16/2017 — see Change Log
OWNER: Koch Fertilizer Beatrice LLC (Koch Industries Inc)
PROJECT: Ammonia-UAN plant, expansion
SUMMARY STATUS: Operational
In operation since 1964, Koch's Beatrice plant was recently expanded, during the turnaround in 2015-2016.
UPDATED: 04/17/2017 — see Change Log
OWNER: OCI Partners LP (OCI NV)
PROJECT: Ammonia plant restart & expansion
SUMMARY STATUS: Operational
OCI Partners restarted the Beaumont methanol-ammonia plant at the end of 2011, and completed a debottlenecking project in 2015 with minor delays and cost over-runs. Since then, the ammonia plant has been producing at record levels, with output slightly more than 100% capacity in 2016. In December 2016, Dutch majority owner OCI NV launched an all-stock buyout offer to acquire the remaining ~20% of OCI Partners, but this was shelved in April 2017 and the offer terminated.
UPDATED: 10/01/2018 - see Change Log
OWNER: Dakota Gasification Company (Basin Electric Power Cooperative)
PROJECT: Existing plant, urea brownfield
SUMMARY STATUS: Operational
Dakota Gasification Company's new urea plant started up early in 2018, when granular urea became the 11th product made at the Great Plains Synfuels Plant (DEF became the 12th). Fertilizers now represent more than 50% of the entire plant's expected revenues. Construction on the new urea plant began in Summer 2014, and would have been completed by mid-2017 but destructive storms flattened the new urea storage building in 2016, which had to be demolished and the foundations ripped out before construction could restart. A small ammonia expansion was completed during the project.
UPDATED: 02/06/2018 — see Change Log
OWNER: Nutrien
PROJECT: Ammonia-Urea Plant, expansion & urea brownfield
SUMMARY STATUS: Ammonia expansion Cancelled, Urea brownfield Operational
In April 2017, Agrium "successfully commissioned" its brownfield urea plant at Borger, which had been under construction since March 2014, more than a year behind schedule and 10% over budget. An expected debottleneck of the ammonia line was cancelled in 2015. In January 2018, Nutrien was formed through a "merger of equals" between Agrium and PotashCorp that was originally announced in September 2016.
UPDATED: 03/07/2016 — see Change Log. No further updates expected.
OWNER: Agrebon
PROJECT: Brownfield urea plant
SUMMARY STATUS: Cancelled
Agrebon is no longer developing the Casselton plant. There have been no announcements regarding this site since April 2013. The team behind Agrebon regrouped as Bayotech, which continues to develop small-scale, modular ammonia reactors but shifts the team's focus away from biomass feedstocks.
UPDATED: 03/22/2018 — see Change Log
OWNER: Cherokee Nitrogen LLC (LSB Industries Inc)
PROJECT: Nitrogen production complex
SUMMARY STATUS: Operational
The Cherokee plant has been producing nitrogen fertilizers since 1961, and was acquired by LSB Industries in 2000. With repeated outages over the years, LSB is focused on improving reliability at the site, which serves agricultural and industrial markets; most recently, in 2Q 2017, the Cherokee site reported a 100% on-stream rate.
UPDATED: 07/23/2017 — see Change Log
OWNER: Dyno Nobel (Incitec Pivot Limited)
PROJECT: Ammonium Nitrate plant
SUMMARY STATUS: Operational
In operation since 1965, the Cheyenne plant primarily produces industrial ammonium nitrate, for Dyno Nobel's explosives market. It is currently producing ammonia at record levels, although a 4-6 week turnaround is scheduled for 2H2017. The site has been expanded recently, with additions of a second industrial ammonium nitrate plant and a DEF production unit.
UPDATED: 04/28/2018 — see Change Log
OWNER: Coffeyville Resources Nitrogen Fertilizers LLC (CVR Partners LP / CVR Energy Inc)
PROJECT: Ammonia-UAN plant
SUMMARY STATUS: Operational
The Coffeyville plant started up in 2000 and, until 2016, was the newest ammonia plant in the US. It is currently the only ammonia plant in the US to use petroleum coke feedstock. In April 2016, CVR merged with Rentech; and also completed minor expansion work on its Coffeyville ammonia plant.