Japanese energy producer JERA Co. has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with German utility company EnBW AG and its gas importing subsidiary, VNG AG, to conduct a joint feasibility study for the construction of an ammonia cracker demonstration plant in Germany’s Rostock port area, according to a June 12 announcement from the companies.
“We are pleased to work together with EnBW and VNG, with whom we have confirmed alignment with regards to our purpose and strategic direction,” said JERA CEO Yukio Kani. “A collaboration with such prominent leaders of the European energy industry is exactly what JERA had been longing for.”
According to the partners, the project would allow for the transport of large quantities of hydrogen as ammonia to Rostock from oversea regions, where it could be re-converted into hydrogen and then transported to German consumers and customers. An existing ammonia terminal in the Rostock port area could be used for importing the ammonia, the companies said.
“At EnBW, we are working at full steam to transform our generation capacities from fossil fuels such as coal to non-fossil fuels such as hydrogen,” said Georg Stamatelopoulos, EnBW Board Member and COO of Sustainable Generation Infrastructure. “The joint project between EnBW, VNG, and JERA fits in very well with our efforts to become climate-neutral by 2035. The key is to create the right conditions now for the fastest possible decarbonization of the business.”
“The construction of a demonstration plant of an ammonia cracker in Rostock together with JERA and EnBW is another important step towards supporting the ramp-up of hydrogen in Germany and thus making a contribution to decarbonization in eastern Germany,” added Hans-Joachim Polk, VNG’s Chief Technology Officer.
The German government in 2022 was reported to be considering a minority stake in VNG and a controlling stake in Uniper SE, Germany’s biggest gas importer, to head off a collapse of Germany’s energy system amid curtailments of Russian gas supplied by PJSC Gazprom, Bloomberg reported (GM Sept. 16, 2022).