CALGARY — Pembina Pipeline Corp. says it has reached an agreement with Japanese conglomerate Marubeni Corp. to create an ammonia supply chain for exports to Asian markets.

Calgary-based Pembina Pipeline says the project includes joint development of low-carbon hydrogen and ammonia production facilities near Fort Saskatchewan, Alta.

The company says the project will make use of existing infrastructure and regional natural gas supplies to produce the hydrogen, along with the ammonia which is used as a hydrogen carrier.

The project is expected to have a design capacity of up to 185 kilotonnes per year of hydrogen production, which would be converted into about a million tonnes a year of ammonia that would be carried to the west coast via rail.

Pembina Pipeline says it plans to use carbon capture and storage to capture a "significant" amount of the carbon emissions.

The company says the project would potentially serve as an anchor to develop a wider low-carbon complex that it could use to attract investment for production hydrogen and hydrogen carriers.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 30, 2023.

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