en.Wedoany.com Reported - IHI and ACME announced that a renewable ammonia production plant being developed in Odisha, eastern India, will receive contract for difference (CfD) funding from the Japanese government. Mitsui & Co., JERA (Blue Point Project in the U.S.), and Resonac (Kawasaki plastic recycling plant, producing hydrogen from recycled plastics to make ammonia) have also received CfD funding for low-carbon ammonia. Under Japan's total 1 trillion USD Green Transformation (GX) plan, 51 billion USD is specifically allocated for hydrogen and ammonia investment, most of which goes to a long-term CfD program to subsidize increased production costs. The CfD funding is managed by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and supported by the Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security (JOGMEC).
In the long term, the project will transport 405,000 tons of ammonia annually from India to Japan, with first-phase production expected to begin in 2027. IHI and ACME will cover the entire ammonia value chain, including logistics. At full capacity, the Odisha project will produce 1.3 million tons of renewable ammonia annually.
ACME stated in the announcement that CfD funding will cover 228,000 tons of capacity annually for 25 years (starting from September 2030), while the remaining 177,000 tons of annual capacity will be supported by Japan's Long-Term Decarbonization Power Auction (LTDA). Another renewable energy project by ACME in Paradip, Odisha, eastern India (with an annual capacity of 800,000 tons) has already received subsidies from the Indian government in the first round of renewable ammonia auctions last year. ACME has also signed a Green Ammonia Purchase Agreement (GAPA) with the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI), covering 370,000 tons of annual capacity; an additional 83,000 tons of annual capacity will be supported through Japan's LTDA program for supply to Japan (import location and power plant destination unknown).
On the Japanese end of the supply chain, IHI is collaborating with seven alliance partners, including Kobelco Power Kobe (a subsidiary of Kobe Steel), Sumitomo Chemical, Nippon Beet Sugar Manufacturing, Hokkaido Electric Power, Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Company, and UBE Corporation. These partners will utilize low-carbon ammonia imported from ACME in India to establish a future ammonia import hub in Tomakomai, Hokkaido. The Tomakomai region, launched in 2024, offers vast land suitable for new facilities, particularly large storage tanks. The area is already the largest maritime hub in northern Japan, with access to major shipping routes. IHI and the alliance plan to develop an import and supply hub in Tomakomai by 2030.
