South Korea EPC firm Samsung E&A announced the 500,000-tonne plant for Wabash Valley Resources could come online in 2029 at the site of an idled coal gasification facility.

The project was recently backed by the US Department of Energy with a $1.5bn loan in a move to reduce ammonia fertiliser imports.

The plant will use a local mine as a feedstock, reacting coal with oxygen and steam to produce syngas – a combination of hydrogen and carbon monoxide.

Syngas will be put through a water-gas shift reaction to increase hydrogen yield while generating carbon dioxide.

Samsung E&A said it would work with the project’s technology provider Honeywell UOP in undertaking the build. The firm signed a $475m engineering, procurement, and fabrication deal with Wabash last year.

Wabash plans to equip the plant with carbon capture and storage technology to remove the 1.65 million tonnes of CO2 produced by the process.

Few details have been announced on where the CO2 could be stored. However, it will likely be eligible for carbon capture, storage or use tax credits from the US federal government.

Under the 45Q tax credits, companies can claim up to $85 per tonne of CO2 capture, stored or used in industry.

President and CEO of SAMSUNG E&A, Hong Namkoong, said the collaboration between Korea and the US was “meaningful” and he aims to continue expanding business models for future energy solutions.