By Robb M. Stewart


Pembina Pipeline plans to jointly develop a hydrogen and ammonia production facility with Marubeni that would supply Japan and other Asian markets.

The Canadian company, which owns hydrocarbon liquids and natural gas pipelines and other energy infrastructure, said Tuesday it signed a memorandum of agreement with Marubeni for the development of a low-carbon ammonia supply chain and a production facility on its land near the Redwater Complex in Alberta.

The proposed project will leverage access to existing infrastructure and Canada's natural gas supply, as well as West Coast shipping access to Asia and a growing carbon capture and sequestration industry, Pembina said. Demand for low-carbon ammonia in Japan and other Asian markets is expected to grow substantially given its efficiency as a carrier of hydrogen and use as a low-carbon fuel source, it said.

Pembina said initial feasibility studies have been completed and the facility is expected to have a design capacity of up to 185 kilotons a year of hydrogen production, which will be converted into roughly 1 million metric tons a year of low-carbon ammonia that would be transported via rail to Canada's West Coast and shipped to Japan and other Asian markets.

The project is expected to be structured as an infrastructure-style, fee-based business and Pembina said it could serve as an anchor development for its efforts to establish a new growth platform, known as the Pembina Low Carbon Complex.


Write to Robb M. Stewart at robb.stewart@wsj.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

05-30-23 0835ET