Japan’s Ammonia Co-Firing Plan for Coal-fired Power Plants Faces $4 bn Cost, Supply and Technology Challenges

However, its competitiveness is weakening as renewable energy and battery-storage technologies become more commercially attractive, the IEEFA report called Japan’s Ammonia Co-firing Strategy Constrained by Cost, Supply, and Timing. Japan targets 20 percent ammonia co-firing by 2030Japan’s Green Transformation roadmap, reaffirmed in April 2026, calls for a 20 percent ammonia co-firing rate across coal-fired power plants by 2030. Blue Point ammonia project cost rises to USD 4 billionThe Blue Point Complex in Louisiana illustrates the growing investment risks surrounding Japan’s ammonia supply strategy. Ammonia power could cost 464 percent more than solarCost competitiveness represents the biggest barrier to widespread ammonia use. So far, only JERA’s 1-gigawatt Unit 4 at the 4.1-gigawatt Hekinan Thermal Power Station has demonstrated 20 percent ammonia co-firing at commercial scale.