Expected to invest around $1.8bn, Linde plans to build, own, and operate an on-site complex, integrating autothermal reforming with carbon capture, and a large air separation plant to supply OCI’s 1.1 million tonne per year blue ammonia plant.

Linde has said it will supply OCI with ‘clean’ hydrogen by sequestering more than 1.7 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions each year. Additionally, the company plans to use its pipeline network to provide hydrogen to existing and new customers in the US Gulf Coast.

Hoped to start up in 2025, the plant will also supply atmospheric and rare gases to new and existing customers.

“Linde’s capabilities are already enabling the transition to a low-carbon-intensity economy,” said Sanjiv Lamba, CEO of Linde. “Our strategy is to support decarbonisation by working with off-takers like OCI, to safely and reliably supply low-carbon industrial gases at scale.”

In 2021, the Linde said it would invest more than $1bn in decarbonisation initiatives and triple the amount of its clean hydrogen production by 2028.

Ahmed El-Hoshy, CEO of OCI, commented, “The Beaumont facility will allow us to build and strengthen our world-leading blue ammonia and clean fuels platform, supplying both the US and export markets with blue ammonia, an ideal solution to decarbonise hard-to-abate sectors such as agriculture, power and marine fuels at a competitive cost.”

OCI announced it was set to start the construction of the facility in September last year (2022).

Read more: OCI develops blue ammonia in Texas and CCS in Iowa

At the time of the announcement, El-Hoshy said the Beaumont facility would allow the company to strengthen its ammonia and clean fuels platform, adding to its existing capacities in the US, the Netherlands, Middle East and North Africa, and its green methanol business.