The operator of a pipeline slated to transport carbon dioxide into North Dakota for disposal intends to pick up emissions captured from an ammonia plant planned for Grand Forks.
Pipeline developer Summit Carbon Solutions and ammonia plant developer Northern Plains Nitrogen announced the partnership Monday.
Northern Plains Nitrogen’s facility plans to supply low-carbon, nitrogen-based fertilizer products to farmers in the northern United States and Canada, according to a statement. The company expects to capture 500,000 tons per year of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change.
“By partnering with Summit Carbon Solutions to capture, transport, and permanently store carbon dioxide, we will further reduce the carbon intensity of our products,” CEO Don Pottinger said.
Summit proposes to inject the ammonia plant’s emissions into rocks deep underground in Oliver and Mercer counties where its pipeline system is slated to end. The company is planning a large system that would extend 2,000 miles across the Dakotas, Minnesota, Nebraska, and Iowa. The system would primarily transport carbon emissions from ethanol plants across the region.
The ammonia plant has been in the works for years. The Grand Forks Herald reported in 2018 that it had struggled to find investors. The facility has acquired a site and the permits needed to begin construction, according to Monday’s statement.