Norwegian energy major Equinor and U.S. energy and infrastructure company Tallgrass Energy will partner on exploring large-scale hydrogen and ammonia projects in the U.S. The two companies will jointly fund a front-end engineering and design (FEED) study with a focus on hydrogen production with 95% or more CO2 capture and sequestration, together with the production of ammonia for the transportation and storage of H2.
“The joint initiative with Tallgrass to launch plans for a large-scale clean ammonia value chain in the U.S. is fully in line with the roadmap of making Equinor carbon neutral by 2050,” said Grete Tveit, senior vice president for low carbon solutions at Equinor. The collaboration will build on the two companies’ complementary experiences and their aspirations to play an active role in the global energy transition, she also said.
Recent developments in the U.S. have proved the country’s commitment to decarbonization. Recently, Congress passed the historic Inflation Reduction Act, which increased the 45Q tax credit for CO2 from $50 to $85 per metric ton for permanent geological storage. According to scientific estimations, the legislation would decrease greenhouse gas emissions by 30–40% below 2005 levels by this decade’s end.
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Equinor and Tallgrass are currently evaluating several regional energy centers as potential locations for their partnership.
The emissions reduction potential of the collaboration between the two companies equals cutting the emissions from more than one-third of all cars in Colorado, Arizona, and Massachusetts, said Dustin Bashford, Tallgrass’ segment president. “It is this type of meaningful decarbonization that we are committed to rapidly advancing,” he added.
Tallgrass has been working on carbon capture projects in Wyoming, Nebraska, and Colorado. The company, which is converting its natural gas pipeline into a carbon transportation service, plans to capture 10 million tonnes of CO2.
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