Hot on the heels of a memorandum of understanding to build the first German LNG terminal in Brunsbüttel near Hamburg, the country’s energy firm RWE has announced plans to develop an ammonia import terminal in the immediate vicinity.
The company said the project should help facilitate the subsequent conversion of the entire site ready to import the so-called green molecules and underlines RWE’s aspiration, as a shareholder in the LNG terminal, to pay particular attention to its green conversion. “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,” said Markus Krebber, CEO of RWE.
As early as 2026, around 300,000 tonnes of green ammonia per year are expected to arrive in Germany via the terminal. The next step is to build a cracker on a large industrial scale at the terminal to produce green hydrogen on site, which would be transported via a dedicated hydrogen pipeline.
RWE estimated investments in the mid three-digit million euro range. With this expansion stage, an increase in the volume of ammonia to 2m tonnes per year is also planned. Brunsbüttel Ports is supporting the project with space and as a logistics partner with port infrastructure to unload tankers. The site has direct access to the North Sea and the Baltic Sea, and is also connected to European inland waterways.
Robert Habeck, minister of German economic affairs and climate, welcomed the project, saying: “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. 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.”
