Exploring Development Of Green Amonia Technology, Pupuk Kaltim Calls This A Positive Opportunity

Illustration of Fertilizer (Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - PT Pupuk Kalimantan Timur (Pupuk Kaltim) is starting to explore the development of green ammonia technology. this is in order to explore the use of new and renewable energy.

"Of course this is a very positive opportunity and opportunity for the progress of Pupuk Kaltim and also for the country's petrochemical industry. Pupuk Kaltim is also always open to collaboration with many parties who can produce the best technology and innovation," said Pupuk Kaltim President Director Rahmad Pribadi quoting Antara.

Rahmad added, as a subsidiary of BUMN Pupuk Indonesia, Pupuk Kaltim started one of them through exploring green ammonia as a form of renewable energy. Pupuk Kaltim sees, in the future, that gray ammonia or products made from hydrocarbon raw products will be replaced by green ammonia products.

Pupuk Kaltim together with Copenhagen Atomics, Topsoe, Alfa Laval, and Aalborg CSP initiated a review of green ammonia production using thorium-based energy. Such as green ammonia, thorium is also classified as a more economical source of green energy. In Indonesia, the potential content of thorium is estimated at 210,000-270,000 tons stored in Bangka, West Kalimantan and West Sulawesi.

The positive synergy initiated by Pupuk Kaltim in this exploration of green ammonia production began with communication between the President Director of Pupuk Kaltim, Personal Rahmad, and Co-Founder of Copenhagen Atomics Thomas Jam Pederson in July 2022. Copenhagen Atomics then offered East Kalimantan Pupuk to join a joint study on green ammonia being conducted between Copenhagen Atomics, Topsoe and Alfa Laval.

As an initial stage, Pupuk Kaltim together with Copenhagen Atomics, Topsoe, Alfa Laval, and Aalborg CSP have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) regarding the green ammonia study using thorium-based energy digitally in January 2023.

As proof of seriousness and commitment, all parties involved in this collaboration also agreed to re-sign the second memorandum of understanding on 19 May 2023 in Copenhagen, Denmark. The focus of this study is the construction plan for facilities that produce green ammonia of 1 million tons per year with an estimated investment of 4 billion US dollars.

At the direction of PT Pupuk Indonesia as the parent company of Pupuk Kaltim, this collaboration will also involve Pertamina New & Renewable Energy which gets a role to find an environmentally friendly hydrogen production process.

The ammonia Green is ammonia produced from non-hydrocarbon raw materials and also uses energy sources from non-hydrocarbons (green energy). One of the processes of production of green ammonia is to maximize hydrogen produced by water electrolyse with nitrogen drawn from air.

The development of green ammonia certainly promises extraordinary potential. And for Pupuk Kaltim to be one of the initiators of renewable energy development is certainly in line with our goal to always prioritize technology and innovation to be able to produce the best and efficient products without neglecting the importance of maintaining environmental sustainability.

Not only for Pupuk Kaltim, this collaboration is certainly a very good collaboration for Indonesia and the world. And at the same time, it is clear evidence of Pupuk Kaltim's commitment to be increasingly recognized as a global petrochemical industry actor," said Rahmad.