Australian mining company Fortescue Metals Group is investing €130m ($129m) in Belgian-based hydrogen startup Tree Energy Solutions (TES), a company that is developing a green energy hub in the German port of Wilhelmshaven.
Under the agreement, Fortescue’s green energy division, Fortescue Future Industries (FFI), will invest €30m to become a shareholder in Tree Energy Solutions and invest around €100m in the construction of the Wilhelmshaven energy import terminal.
The deal will also see Fortescue become a major shareholder with a 30% stake in TES’ subsidiary Deutsche Grüngas und Energieversorgung, the company behind the Wilhelmshaven project.
FFI joins a group of investors in TES comprised of international financial institutions and multinational energy companies, including E.ON, HSBC, UniCredit and Eyal Ofer-led Zodiac Maritime.
Fortescue executive chairman, Andrew Forrest, commented: “The United Kingdom and Europe urgently need green solutions to replace fossil fuels and this investment will enable Europe to do exactly that. Not in 2050, but in four years from now.
“From the beginning of FFI, our philosophy was to drive performance across the entire new renewable GH2 value chain while delivering returns to our shareholders. This investment reinforces this commitment and is a significant step forward in FFI’s journey to become one of the world’s largest green energy producers.”
Mark Hutchinson, chief executive of FFI, said the investment supports the deal reached with Germany’s largest energy group E.ON in March this year to ship up to 5m tonnes of green hydrogen to Germany by 2030.
The first phase of the partnership with TES is to jointly develop and invest in the supply of 300,000 tonnes of green hydrogen, with final locations being currently agreed, and a financial investment decision targeted in 2023.
The first delivery of green hydrogen into TES’ terminal in Germany is anticipated to take place in 2026. Initial collaboration projects will be focused on Australia, Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
