Korean chems giant LFC and fertz trader Trammo ink green ammonia MoU

LONDON (ICIS)–An arm of leading independent marketer and transporter of ammonia, Trammo, on Wednesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Korean chemicals major Lotte Fine Chemical (LFC) for green ammonia supply.

Under the deal, Trammo DMCC, a subsidiary of New York-headquartered Trammo Inc, will supply the zero-carbon fertilizer to LFC, with the agreement marking the first such deal in the Korean market.

The pair – which currently have an annual supply agreement for traditional grey (fossil-fuel) ammonia – said in a news release they share the common goal of becoming pioneers in the development of the green ammonia and green energy markets in the region.

No details as to the timeline for the fulfilment of the MoU or the potential volume of green ammonia involved, were disclosed.

Christophe Savi, head of Trammo’s ammonia division, said: “After several years of collaboration we are extremely pleased to strengthen further our ties with LFC.

“Both companies share a common vision and a philosophy which will allow our partnership to continuously grow […], especially in servicing the global decarbonisation process and in finding innovative logistic solutions for the marketplace.

“LFC has been for many years successfully coordinating one of the largest world ammonia hubs and we are proud to contribute in the expansion of its footprint through an ambitious green ammonia distribution project in Korea.”

Henry Yoon, head of LFC’s chemical division, added: “We believe ammonia will be transferred from the commodity to an important energy source soon, so supply stability will be more critical for the business than that of today.”

In late 2020, LFC announced it had finalised its 2021 ammonia supply contracts with six partners for up to 800,000 tonnes of ammonia for discharge at Ulsan.

In addition to Trammo, suppliers regularly sending large cargoes of the nitrogen fertilizer to that port this year are Parna Raya, Ma’aden, Mitsubishi, Mitsui and SABIC.