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Released April 11, 2022 | GALWAY, IRELAND
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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--German energy major RWE AG (Essen, Germany) is to build a green ammonia import terminal at Brunsbüttel, near Hamburg, as the country begins a national drive for energy independence from Russia.
The company, which has just agreed to build one of the country's first liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals at the same location with Gasunie (Groningen, Netherlands) and German state-owned bank KfW, said that the project is the start of turning the entire site into an import terminal for green energy. It called "green ammonia"--which is created using hydrogen made by electrolysis powered by renewable energy--as the most "competitive hydrogen derivative with the highest level of technological maturity." It is widely used in the agriculture and chemicals industries.
From as early as 2026, around 300,000 tonnes of green ammonia per year are due to arrive in Germany via the terminal before distribution to customers, RWE stated. The next step will be to build an industrial-scale cracker at the terminal to produce green hydrogen on site as well. This will see the volume of ammonia jump to 2 million tonnes per year, which will be transported to industrial customers via a dedicated hydrogen pipeline.
The project was welcomed by the Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, Robert Habeck: "Russia's brutal war against Ukraine has made it abundantly clear that we must become independent of fuel imports from Russia. The LNG terminal in Brunsbüttel is an important element in this, as it will increase the capabilities to import gas to Germany. Now RWE is adding a second central project: a terminal for green energy imports. Green ammonia as a liquefied hydrogen derivative can make an important contribution to supplying Germany with green hydrogen. At the same time, we can gain important experience with this project for the conversion from LNG to green hydrogen or hydrogen derivatives."
Markus Krebber, RWE's chief executive officer, added: "It is now more important than ever to think of climate protection and security of supply as one. That's what we are doing. On the one hand, we are involved in the forthcoming construction of the first LNG terminal in Germany. On the other hand, we are going to build an ammonia terminal at the site to forge ahead with the import of green energy for the decarbonisation of industry. This flagship project will cover the entire value chain--from import, to conversion, transport and use by industrial customers. The entire site will benefit from this."
RWE said that more than 125 million tonnes of ammonia is produced worldwide every year and processed into fertilizer in agriculture or used in chemical processes, among other things. While most of that is produced using fossil-fuel power, there is a fast-growing market for green ammonia. Industrial Info is tracking 45 green ammonia-related projects in Europe worth more than US$4.6 billion. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Chemical Processing Project Database can click here for a list of detailed project reports.
In December, Industrial Info reported that RWE had teamed up with Linde plc (Guildford, U.K.) to develop a 200-megawatt (MW) electrolyser plant to make green hydrogen in Lingen, Germany. On final approval, it will see Linde deliver two 100-MW Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) electrolysers to RWE's Lingen power plant. The GET H2 project would be by far the most advanced large-scale plant in Germany. For additional information, see December 28, 2021, article--RWE and Linde to Build 200-Megawatt Green Hydrogen Plant in Germany.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the world's leading provider of market intelligence across the upstream, midstream and downstream energy markets and all other major industrial markets. IIR's Global Market Intelligence Platform (GMI) supports our end-users across their core businesses, and helps them connect trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated project opportunities. Follow IIR on: LinkedIn.
The company, which has just agreed to build one of the country's first liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals at the same location with Gasunie (Groningen, Netherlands) and German state-owned bank KfW, said that the project is the start of turning the entire site into an import terminal for green energy. It called "green ammonia"--which is created using hydrogen made by electrolysis powered by renewable energy--as the most "competitive hydrogen derivative with the highest level of technological maturity." It is widely used in the agriculture and chemicals industries.
From as early as 2026, around 300,000 tonnes of green ammonia per year are due to arrive in Germany via the terminal before distribution to customers, RWE stated. The next step will be to build an industrial-scale cracker at the terminal to produce green hydrogen on site as well. This will see the volume of ammonia jump to 2 million tonnes per year, which will be transported to industrial customers via a dedicated hydrogen pipeline.
The project was welcomed by the Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, Robert Habeck: "Russia's brutal war against Ukraine has made it abundantly clear that we must become independent of fuel imports from Russia. The LNG terminal in Brunsbüttel is an important element in this, as it will increase the capabilities to import gas to Germany. Now RWE is adding a second central project: a terminal for green energy imports. Green ammonia as a liquefied hydrogen derivative can make an important contribution to supplying Germany with green hydrogen. At the same time, we can gain important experience with this project for the conversion from LNG to green hydrogen or hydrogen derivatives."
Markus Krebber, RWE's chief executive officer, added: "It is now more important than ever to think of climate protection and security of supply as one. That's what we are doing. On the one hand, we are involved in the forthcoming construction of the first LNG terminal in Germany. On the other hand, we are going to build an ammonia terminal at the site to forge ahead with the import of green energy for the decarbonisation of industry. This flagship project will cover the entire value chain--from import, to conversion, transport and use by industrial customers. The entire site will benefit from this."
RWE said that more than 125 million tonnes of ammonia is produced worldwide every year and processed into fertilizer in agriculture or used in chemical processes, among other things. While most of that is produced using fossil-fuel power, there is a fast-growing market for green ammonia. Industrial Info is tracking 45 green ammonia-related projects in Europe worth more than US$4.6 billion. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Chemical Processing Project Database can click here for a list of detailed project reports.
In December, Industrial Info reported that RWE had teamed up with Linde plc (Guildford, U.K.) to develop a 200-megawatt (MW) electrolyser plant to make green hydrogen in Lingen, Germany. On final approval, it will see Linde deliver two 100-MW Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) electrolysers to RWE's Lingen power plant. The GET H2 project would be by far the most advanced large-scale plant in Germany. For additional information, see December 28, 2021, article--RWE and Linde to Build 200-Megawatt Green Hydrogen Plant in Germany.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the world's leading provider of market intelligence across the upstream, midstream and downstream energy markets and all other major industrial markets. IIR's Global Market Intelligence Platform (GMI) supports our end-users across their core businesses, and helps them connect trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated project opportunities. Follow IIR on: LinkedIn.
