Adak green ammonia production planned

Alan Bailey

for Petroleum News

According to a report in Alaska Business, green energy company Pacific H2 is partnering with Native regional corporation Aleut Corp. to establish a green ammonia production facility using wind farm generated electricity on Adak Island in the Aleutians. The concept is to ship liquefied ammonia, manufactured using green power, from Adak to Asian markets, for use as an industrial fuel.

According to the Pacific H2 website the company says that it would use its floating P2XFloater facility, moored in the deepwater port at Adak, to produce the ammonia. Ammonia transport ships could dock alongside the facility, to load with liquid ammonia. The production of the ammonia would involve the use of the onshore wind power for the electrolysis of water into hydrogen and oxygen. The hydrogen would then be combined with nitrogen from the air to form ammonia, which would be liquefied for shipment.

The company says that Adak Island is the site of a military base that closed in 1998 and that much of the infrastructure, including housing, fuel storage, road and dock remains usable, albeit with some repairs. And the ice-free port is the closest U.S. port to Asian countries such as Japan and South Korea. The use of the P2XFloater facility would simplify construction and enable flexibility for relocation, if necessary, Pacific H2 says. And Adak Island has excellent wind resources and some geothermal potential, the company says.

Alaska Business reported that Aleut Corp. has leased approximately 3,500 acres of surface land to Pacific H2 for the installation of onshore wind turbines and supporting infrastructure.

--ALAN BAILEY