Copenhagen Atomics to test nuclear ammonia plant in Indonesia

ADanish start-up has entered a $4 billion agreement to build a nuclear-powered ammonia plant in Indonesia.

Copenhagen Atomics is leading a four-party group from Denmark that has signed a MoU with two Indonesian state-owned enterprises, to develop an ammonia facility in the city of Bontang. The plant is set to be powered by next-generation nuclear reactors and have a millionton capacity per year. This will make it one of the biggest low-carbon ammonia projects proposed to-date.

Copenhagen Atomics’s cofounder, Thomas Jam Pedersen, expects the plant to be able to produce the world’s cheapest lowcarbon ammonia.

“I believe that with this plant in Indonesia we can get the price of ammonia down to $500 per ton,” he says.

That compares to $720–1400 per ton for wind or solar-generated ammonia in 2020, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency.