- Germany builds multiple partnerships with UAE towards an expanded hydrogen economy
Germany is aggressively expanding its clean energy base in the race towards net-zero. A recent development is the four contractual agreements and cooperation between a group of German companies and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on research for the production, storage, and transportation of green hydrogen and other spin-offs. The entire products fleet will be moved from UAE to Germany. These concerted efforts form part of Germany’s strategy to accelerate the energy transition rate in the country.
The partnership deals, signed during a visit of Germany’s Minister for Economy and Climate, Robert Habeck, to the UAE, contains the following agreements:
- German companies – Unipper SE, Hydrogenious LOHC, Jera Americas, and the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) will explore hydrogen transportation between the UAE and Germany using Hydrogenious’ liquid organic hydrogen carrier (LOHC) technology. Part of the project will be studying to scale up the existing LOHC technology which will be used for hydrogen transportation.
- ADNOC and Aurubis AG, and other energy companies including RWE AG, Steag, and Gewec will jointly work towards the exploration of low carbon and renewable hydrogen derivatives. As agreed in the contract, ADNOC will make the first test of blue ammonia to the German companies.
- There is also an ongoing collaboration between ADNOC and Hamburger Hafen & Logistik AG, a German company that deals in port operations and logistics, that will see ADNOC throw its weight towards helping Hamburger attain its goal of becoming an import hub for hydrogen in Germany. A pilot phase in preparing a transportation chain for blue ammonia to Germany. This pilot phase is considered a critical success factor towards Germany’s plans of importing green hydrogen in the medium term.
- Siemens Energy AG, Deutsche Lufthansa AG, UAE’S Masdar, a major renewable energy company in the country, alongside other partners, will collaborate on a project for the production of synthetic kerosene. The product will be used in decarbonizing the aviation sector. Upon a successful pilot phase, the 20 MW of electrolysis capacity project, called the Green Falcon project, would be expanded.
- Fraunhofer Society, a German research organization, and the UAE’s Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure, based on an already established agreement, will collaborate for a stronger exchange of research knowledge in the area of sustainable energy and applied hydrogen technologies. Under this collaboration, the Fraunhofer society will support the UAE’s national energy strategy with advice and help in the formation of a research structure.
Based on the agreement, it is expected that by 2022, the first batch of hydrogen deliveries would be made to Germany.
Germany is seeking out ways to entirely transition from the use of natural gas to green hydrogen. Global demand for hydrogen by 2030 is expected to be 3 million tonnnes per year and projected to be in excess of 11 million tonnes per year by 2050 with imports expected to play a major role in meeting this demand.