Aleut Advances Ambitious Adak Ammonia Apparatus
Photo Credit: Petty Officer 3rd Class Dale Arnould | US Coast Guard
A lease agreement with a Oregon-based alternative energy developer puts the Alaska Native regional corporation for the Aleutian Islands on track to spin air into fuel. The Aleut Corporation is partnering with Pacific H2 to produce green ammonia on Adak Island.
Under terms of the Adak partnership, Aleut has leased approximately 3,500 acres to Pacific H2 for the construction of onshore wind turbines and supporting infrastructure.
Midwife to Energy
Situated near the convergence of the Bering Sea and North Pacific Ocean, Adak is known as the “Birthplace of the Winds.” The westernmost ice-free deepwater port in the US sits within a seven-day shipping radius of major Asian markets. With existing infrastructure from the former US Navy facility, Aleut believes Adak is ideally suited to host this type of clean energy facility.
Ammonia, most commonly manufactured as fertilizer, can also be burned as fuel. Green ammonia refers to any process that does not involve fossil fuels as feedstock for the hydrogen that is blended with nitrogen from the atmosphere. Renewable energy sources can thus use ammonia as an energy storage medium.
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June 2025
The green ammonia facility will involve a permanently moored vessel at Pier 3 that will contain all production and storage equipment on board. The process would be powered by wind turbines; construction is anticipated to take approximately three years, with ammonia production and export operations projected to begin in the early 2030s. Pacific H2 anticipates monthly shipments of ammonia to international customers once operations begin.
The project is progressing through permitting and early development stages. Immediate steps include the installation of meteorological monitoring stations on Adak this summer, which will allow Pacific H2 to gather detailed wind data and to determine the appropriate turbine models needed.
The project marks a significant investment in the Aleut region’s economy and reflects the growing interest in practical, scalable, renewable, carbon-free energy solutions, positioning the Aleutians at the forefront of renewable energy innovation.
“This is a meaningful opportunity for Adak, for Alaska, and for the renewable energy industry,” says Aleut CEO and President Skoey Vergen. “Pacific H2’s project brings global innovation to a local setting.”
The project is expected to employ approximately 150 people during operations and bring long-term economic and infrastructure investment to the Aleut region. In addition to creating rotational jobs and the prospect of rehabilitating Adak housing for workers, the project is planning for a broad community impact. Planned improvements include support for local services like a health clinic, recreation center, and emergency response, as well as investments in sustainable infrastructure such as greenhouses and clean heating systems.
Pacific H2 anticipates relocating its offices to Anchorage as development progresses.
Earlier this year, Aleut formalized a partnership with California-based SpinLaunch to use Adak facilities for a ground-based, electric-powered kinetic launcher to accelerate payloads to orbital speeds. The company has conducted a series of suborbital flight tests with its centrifuge at Spaceport America in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico. Orbital launches would require a centrifuge literally as wide as a football field.
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