Japan approves JERA to import ammonia made at Louisiana plant

(The Center Square) – Japanese power generation company JERA, an investment partner with CF Industries in the Blue Point low-carbon ammonia plant under construction near Baton Rouge, has been officially certified as a supplier of low-carbon ammonia by its home country.Japanese regulators certified JERA to import low-carbon hydrogen and its derivatives, such as ammonia, which the company plans to produce at the $4 billion Blue Point plant in Ascension Parish beginning in 2029. Regulators also approved a subsidy for a 15-year period to cover the difference in the price JERA would pay for coal in Japan versus the cost of ammonia imported by the company from the Blue Point project in Louisiana.JERA, which generates about 30% of Japan’s electricity, plans to import the ammonia to use as fuel at the Hekinan Thermal Power Station, one of the largest thermal plants in the country, which is transitioning from coal-fired power generation.JERA’s goals for the Hekinan Thermal Power Station include a phased transition from coal to ammonia fuel, which is aimed at achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. In an early test of the technology in 2024, JERA said that with a 20% ammonia fuel mix it was able to produce a stable 1 gigawatt of electricity.JERA intends to begin using a 20% ammonia fuel mix to produce power at the Hekinan Station beginning in the late 2020s.Beyond power generation, JERA plans to supply ammonia to a diverse range of users, primarily in the manufacturing and shipping industries. JERA said it has signed agreements to charter four ammonia carriers with Japan-based shipping companies NYK Bulkship (Asia) Pte and MOL.CF industries, based in Northbrook, Illinois, has a 40% stake in the Blue Point project, while JERA and Mitsui, a Japanese trading company, own 35% and 25%, respectively.Both JERA and Mitsui are engaged in a variety of energy-related businesses in the U.S. Both have acquired natural gas production companies that are now actively drilling in the Haynesville shale basin in Louisiana and Texas. Additionally, JERA has signed long-term deals with four U.S. suppliers for a total of 9 million tons of liquified natural gas annually.President Donald Trump and then-Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru said in February the two countries would increase exports of U.S. LNG to Japan “in a mutually beneficial manner.”Japanese leaders later pledged investments of $550 billion, which was formalized in meetings in July and September. As part of the deal, Japan committed to stable, long-term purchases of U.S. energy totaling $7 billion per year, incentivizing Japanese firms to own upstream production to ensure stable supplies.CF Industries, JERA and Mitsui together decided to proceed with the Blue Point project in April 2025.Louisiana Economic Development provided a performance-based grant of $6 million to CF Industries to reimburse expenditures related to project development. The project is using the agency’s workforce training program provided by the state, and the Industrial Tax Exemption Program, which offers property tax breaks.CF Industries expects the project will qualify for 45Q federal tax credits, which provide $85 per metric ton of CO2 permanently sequestered. With plans to capture and store approximately 2.3 million metric tons annually, the company expects the Blue Point project will generate about $200 million in federal tax credits each year.Louisiana Economic Development expects the Blue Point project will generate approximately 1,500 construction jobs and 103 permanent full-time jobs when the plant begins operations in 2029.