A unit of German energy firm RWE is looking to import hydrogen from Australia via the planned LNG terminal in Brunsbuettel.
In that regard, RWE Supply & Trading and Australian hydrogen project developer H2U have signed a memorandum of understanding to develop hydrogen trading between Australia and Germany.
Together, the duo aims to bring green hydrogen produced to Europe.
This is in line with the objective of HySupply, a 24-month German-Australian feasibility study which started December 2020 by the German Academy of Science and Engineering and the Federation of German Industries, RWE said in a statement.
Furthermore, the planned LNG terminal in Brunsbüttel, where RWE intends to book capacity, can be an “ideal location” for the future import of hydrogen into Germany, RWE said.
The developer of the facility German LNG Terminal is a joint venture consisting of Dutch Gasunie and Vopak, and Germany’s Oiltanking.
RWE and the joint venture revealed last year plans to develop green hydrogen possibilities via the planned LNG terminal.
Hydrogen for aviation and transport of goods
The German firm says its partner in the new hydrogen move H2U develops several projects in Australia and New Zealand such as the Eyre Peninsula Gateway Project.
At the planned location in South Australia, the firm aims to build a 75-megawatt electrolysis plant, which can supply hydrogen for about 40,000 tonnes of ammonia annually.
Moreover, in a second phase of expansion throughout the 2020’s, H2U wants to extend the capacity to 1.5 gigawatts of electrolysis.
“H2 is the perfect long-term solution to decarbonise industry, aviation and the transport of heavy goods,” Javier Moret, global head of LNG at RWE Supply & Trading, said.
Australia is one of the countries that has “excellent conditions” to produce green hydrogen – low cost of production but also a stable framework, he said.
“As a globally active trader of commodities, we have a lot of experience with shipping energy carriers – including Australian LNG – around the globe and see ourselves as a facilitator for global hydrogen trading,” Moret said.