A consortium of Danish and Indonesian companies has signed a preliminary agreement to jointly develop a low-emission hydrogen and ammonia project in Indonesia which would employ 25 small nuclear reactors (SMRs) to feed 1GW of electrolyser capacity.
Denmark’s Topsoe said it will provide solid oxide electrolysers for hydrogen production, while compatriot Copenhagen Atomics will supply the SMRs. The hydrogen would be converted into 1mn t/yr of ammonia for use as fertilizer, Topsoe said, although Copenhagen Atomics also pointed to the maritime sector as a potential offtaker.
Besides providing the electrolysers, Topsoe will also supply the ammonia synthesis technology for the facility, which is to be set up in Bontang on the eastern coast of the island of Borneo. The project would have “close to zero carbon footprint” and will avert emissions of 1.7mn t/yr of CO2 compared with conventional natural gas-based fertilizer production, according to Topsoe.
Indonesia’s state-owned fertilizer cmpany Pupuk Kaltim and the renewable energy arm of state-owned oil firm Pertamina are also participating in the project. Danish solar power company Aalborg CSP will provide thermal energy storage technology, while equipment firm Alfa Laval will supply desalination equipment and heat exchangers.
The companies will conduct a joint study over the next six months in which “final examinations must be completed and the legal landscape in Indonesia should be fully mapped”, Copenhagen Atomics said. The site could then start operations in 2028 if it gets the go ahead, the firm said, adding that overall construction costs could amount to around $4bn.
Hydrogen production from nuclear power is a nascent technology, with projects to date having mainly been demonstration-scale, such as US firm Constellation Energy’s 1MW plant in New York state. But the technology’s proponents point to the possibility for round-the-clock nuclear power to maximise the operating time of electrolysers, thereby reducin hydrogen output costs.
Solid oxide electrolysers are often seen as the technology best complementing hydrogen production from nuclear power. Topsoe says its electrolysers can split water up to 30pc more efficiently than “competing technologies” by harnessing waste heat which will be available from the nuclear power plants. The company earlier this this week announced plans for an electrolyser manufacturing factory in the US in addition to one it is building in Denmark.
Pupuk Kaltim is a subsidiary of Pupuk Indonesia, which is currently the largest grey ammonia producer in Asia with a total output capacity of 7mn t/yr. Pupuk Indonesia is eyeing several projects to decarbonise its operations, including a “gigascale” green hydrogen and ammonia facility together with Saudi solar developer Acwa Power, although it said earlier this year that it does not expect to achieve large-scale green ammonia production until the mid-2040s.
Last year, Pupuk and Pertamina signed an initial partnershipdeal with Japanese trading firm Mitsubishi for green and blue hydrogen and ammonia projects. Pertamina said last year that it is also piloting the use of geothermal energy to produce renewable hydrogen.
By Aidan Lea
