Clean Hydrogen Works
Clean Hydrogen Works is a private project developer building the $7.5 billion Ascension Clean Energy (ACE) blue ammonia facility in Louisiana, targeting 2.4 MTPA by 2030 and 7.2 MTPA at full deployment for global power, shipping, steel, and fertilizer customers.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2021
- HeadquartersGrand Prairie, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Clean Hydrogen Works does
Clean Hydrogen Works (CHW), founded in 2021 and headquartered in The Woodlands, Texas, is a private clean energy project developer focused on a single asset: the Ascension Clean Energy (ACE) project in Donaldsonville, Louisiana. The $7.5 billion ACE project is designed to produce blue ammonia at world scale — 2.4 million metric tons annually in the first phase (targeted 2030 commercial operations), scaling to 7.2 MTPA at full deployment — for export to power generation, marine bunker fuel, heavy transportation, steel, and fertilizer markets globally.
The core technology is Topsoe's SynCOR autothermal reforming (ATR) process, which produces clean hydrogen for ammonia synthesis while targeting up to 98% CO2 capture. Captured CO2 is contracted for permanent geological sequestration via Denbury's pipeline network (now contested due to ExxonMobil's 2023 acquisition of Denbury). The facility employs mega-module construction methods and self-generated zero-carbon onsite power to minimize cost and Scope 2 emissions. Strategic shareholders Hafnia (~250 vessels) and Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (100+ LNG ships) provide global shipping and distribution capabilities.
CHW operates a pre-revenue, capital-intensive project development model structured around long-term enterprise offtake agreements negotiated directly with large industrial buyers across multiple verticals. Revenue will only begin post-Commercial Operations Date in 2030, contingent on a successful Final Investment Decision targeted for 2026. The company has secured a blue-chip ecosystem of advisors including Goldman Sachs (financial), McDermott (FEED), Wood (owner's engineer), and Latham & Watkins (legal). The business is currently navigating material regulatory risk through an antitrust lawsuit against ExxonMobil over alleged anticompetitive blocking of CO2 pipeline access, with claimed damages exceeding $1 billion.
Clean Hydrogen Works firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Clean Hydrogen Works
- Legal name
- Clean Hydrogen Works, LLC
- Website
- https://cleanhydrogenworks.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2021
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Clean Hydrogen Works is a private project developer building the $7.5 billion Ascension Clean Energy (ACE) blue ammonia facility in Louisiana, targeting 2.4 MTPA by 2030 and 7.2 MTPA at full deployment for global power, shipping, steel, and fertilizer customers.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Clean Hydrogen Works industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Clean Ammonia Production
- NAICS
- Industrial Gas Manufacturing (32512)
- SIC
- Engines & Turbines (3510)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Hydrogen (Industrial & Mobility) (IMAEACAB)
Keywords
Where Clean Hydrogen Works is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Grand Prairie
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
Clean Hydrogen Works business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations
Revenue model
- Clean Ammonia Sales: Production and sale of clean ammonia (blue ammonia) to global markets for use in power generation, marine bunker fuel, heavy transportation, steel processing, industrial applications, and fertilizer production. First phase produces 2.4 million metric tons annually, scaling to 7.2 million metric tons at full deployment.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels4 records
Clean Hydrogen Works product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Clean Hydrogen Works (CHW) is developing the Ascension Clean Energy (ACE) project, a planned world-scale clean ammonia production facility in Ascension Parish, Louisiana. The facility will use blue hydrogen production with Topsoe SynCOR autothermal reforming technology integrated with 98% CO2 capture, producing 2.4 MTPA of clean ammonia in Phase 1 (target COD 2030), scaling to 7.2 MTPA, with a total project investment of approximately $7.5 billion.
Product overview
Clean Hydrogen Works operates as a single-product clean energy development company focused on the Ascension Clean Energy (ACE) project. ACE is a world-scale clean ammonia production facility that represents the company's core and only product offering. The project uses blue hydrogen technology with carbon capture to produce clean ammonia at scale, targeting global decarbonization markets. The facility leverages Topsoe's SynCOR autothermal reforming technology, CO2 transportation and sequestration via Denbury pipelines, and global shipping partnerships with Hafnia and Mitsui O.S.K. Lines for distribution.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Ascension Clean Energy (ACE): World-scale clean ammonia project developed by Clean Hydrogen Works in Ascension Parish, Louisiana, designed to produce up to 7.2 million tons of clean ammonia annually with up to 98% CO2 capture.
Products and services
- Ascension Clean Energy (ACE) Project A world-scale clean ammonia production facility being developed in Ascension Parish, Louisiana, designed to produce 2.4 MTPA in Phase 1 and scale to 7.2 MTPA, with approximately $7.5 billion in total project investment. The facility is targeted at industrial buyers in power generation, marine/shipping, steel, fertilizer, and heavy transportation markets.
- Clean Ammonia
Quantifiable outcome
- 98% CO2 capture rate targeting reduction of up to 98% of all CO2 emissions
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Clean Hydrogen Works
Customer profileNamed customers5 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Clean Hydrogen Works technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
Clean Hydrogen Works partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Five partnerships are on record, tiered key and core.
- McDermottkeyMcDermott was awarded the Front-End Engineering and Design (FEED) contract for the Ascension Clean Energy (ACE) Project in November 2024. McDermott is a leading engineering and construction company providing comprehensive FEED services for large-scale energy projects.
- TopsoecoreTopsoe, headquartered in Denmark and the world's largest ammonia technology licensor, provides licensing, engineering, proprietary hardware, and catalyst for ACE's clean ammonia production. The groundbreaking SynCOR autothermal reforming (ATR) technology will generate clean hydrogen for ammonia production while capturing up to 98% of CO2 emissions.
- DenburycoreDenbury provides critical CO2 transportation and sequestration services for the ACE project. Permanent sequestration takes place at one or more of Denbury's secure underground CO2 sites developed along their existing CO2 pipeline network. CO2 captured from ammonia production (up to 98%) is transferred to Denbury's pipeline for transport and permanent geological storage. Note: ExxonMobil acquired Denbury in 2023 and CHW has filed antitrust lawsuit alleging anticompetitive blocking of pipeline access.
- Wood GroupkeyWood (John Wood Group PLC) serves as the engineering consultant to the ACE project, providing engineering, project management, and technical services. Selected as owner's engineer in Q1 2022 to support permitting, PDP and FEED development. Wood has been involved in projects focusing on green energy and sustainable energy transition.
- Latham & WatkinskeyLatham & Watkins LLP serves as the legal advisor for commercial activities of the ACE project. Recognized as a powerhouse in the energy sector with expertise across various energy industry sectors, providing legal services covering the entire lifecycle of energy projects including navigating complex regulatory environments and securing financing.
Scale indicators10 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Clean Hydrogen Works competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Air Liquide: Global industrial gas leader investing heavily in blue and green hydrogen, ammonia, and CCS across the U.S. Gulf Coast and Europe. Comparable as a large incumbent executing world-scale hydrogen-to-ammonia projects with similar customer base.
- CF Industries: North America's largest nitrogen fertilizer producer with growing investments in blue/green ammonia (e.g., Donaldsonville complex). Dale Reppond's background includes CF Industries, making the firm a direct U.S. competitor in clean ammonia capacity and fertilizer offtake.
- Linde: Global industrial gas major and one of the largest hydrogen producers. Joe Dunn's prior tenure at Linde and Linde's blue/green hydrogen project portfolio make it a broad incumbent peer across hydrogen production, CCS integration, and global offtake.
- Air Products: Largest U.S. hydrogen producer with multi-billion-dollar blue/green hydrogen and clean ammonia megaprojects in Louisiana and globally. VP Business Development Joe Dunn previously worked at Air Products, and Air Products overlaps directly with ACE's end-market strategy and Gulf Coast footprint.
Emerging players
- HIF Global: Developer of large-scale e-fuels (hydrogen/ammonia/methanol) projects targeting shipping and heavy transport. Comparable as an emerging player in the same clean-fuel decarbonization end-markets, with overlapping shipping and offtake counterparties.
- NextDecade: U.S. energy transition developer with integrated CCS (1PointFive) and low-carbon ammonia/FID-stage projects. Comparable as a fellow project-development-stage peer pursuing first-of-a-kind integrated CCS and clean-fuel economics.
Direct peers
- OCI Global: OCI Global is a leading nitrogen and methanol producer with one of the world's first large-scale clean ammonia projects at Beaumont, Texas (1.1 MTPA). CHW's plant director Dale Reppond came directly from OCI/Woodside's Beaumont facility, and OCI is a comparable blue/clean ammonia developer targeting the same end-markets.
- Yara International: Global nitrogen-fertilizer and ammonia major with multiple clean ammonia pilots and offtake positions across shipping and agriculture. Olivier Saulnier (CHW's VP Sales & Marketing) spent 30 years at Yara, indicating direct talent and commercial overlap in fertilizer-market-driven clean ammonia.
- ADNOC: Abu Dhabi national oil company shipping blue ammonia to Asian and European markets through projects such as Fertiglobe. ADNOC is a direct competitor targeting the same maritime/power-generation offtake markets that ACE addresses.
- Woodside Energy: Australian energy major co-developing low-carbon ammonia (e.g., with OCI at Beaumont) and pursuing global shipping/marine ammonia offtake. Woodside's strategic partnership with OCI positions it as a direct comparable for ACE's product/customer mix and CCS-integrated design.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Clean Hydrogen Works financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Clean Hydrogen Works leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles12 records
Clean Hydrogen Works funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Clean Hydrogen Works M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Clean Hydrogen Works
What does Clean Hydrogen Works do?
Clean Hydrogen Works (CHW) is developing the Ascension Clean Energy (ACE) project, a planned world-scale clean ammonia production facility in Ascension Parish, Louisiana. The facility will use blue hydrogen production with Topsoe SynCOR autothermal reforming technology integrated with 98% CO2 capture, producing 2.4 MTPA of clean ammonia in Phase 1 (target COD 2030), scaling to 7.2 MTPA, with a total project investment of approximately $7.5 billion.
Is Clean Hydrogen Works a public or private company?
Clean Hydrogen Works is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Clean Hydrogen Works founded?
Clean Hydrogen Works was founded in 2021. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Clean Hydrogen Works based?
Clean Hydrogen Works is headquartered in Grand Prairie, United States, in the North America region.
How does Clean Hydrogen Works make money?
One revenue line is on record: clean Ammonia Sales.
Who are Clean Hydrogen Works's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Air Liquide, CF Industries, Linde and Air Products. Emerging players are HIF Global and NextDecade. Direct peers are OCI Global, Yara International, ADNOC and Woodside Energy.
Does Clean Hydrogen Works have an API?
No public API is recorded for Clean Hydrogen Works.
What industry is Clean Hydrogen Works in?
Clean Hydrogen Works's product category is Clean Ammonia Production. Its primary akta.pro industry code is IMAEACAB, Hydrogen (Industrial & Mobility). Its NAICS code is 32512 and its SIC code is 3510.