Most people think of ammonia as a household cleaner. To big oil companies, climate investors and the U.S. government, it is a hot commodity that is attracting billions of dollars for its use in fertilizer and low-carbon energy.
The latest bet is a $1.56 billion Energy Department loan commitment for an ammonia project in Indiana. The agreement comes on top of a recent $2.35 billion deal for a Gulf Coast project by an Australia-based energy company, a big investment from Abu Dhabi’s national oil company in an Exxon Mobil XOM -0.07% project in Texas and a large effort in Mississippi from ammonia giant CF Industries CF 1.87%.
Ammonia, which is a mixture of hydrogen and nitrogen, has long been a critical ingredient in fertilizer, but it is also a big emitter of greenhouse gases because it is typically made using fossil fuels. Projects like the one in Indiana are considered low-carbon because they trap the CO2 emissions from the process and bury them underground.
