Germany awards tender to Fertiglobe for green ammonia from Egypt

OCI

11/07/2024 14:01

BERLIN, July 11 (Reuters) - Germany has awarded a tender
to buy 259,000 tons of green ammonia between 2027 and 2033 from
UAE-based Fertiglobe, Germany's Economy Ministry said, marking
the first in a round of global tenders to import green hydrogen
derivatives needed for decarbonisation. 
    Germany is seeking to expand the use of green hydrogen fuel,
made from water using solar or wind power, as a future energy
source to cut emissions from industrial sectors that cannot be
electrified, such as steel and chemicals, and reduce dependency
on imported fossil fuel.
    But Germany will need to import around 50% to 70% of its
green hydrogen due to limited renewable energy resources needed
to produce it.
    "The import of green hydrogen products is a decisive step in
the ramp-up of the hydrogen market in Germany," Economy Minister
Robert Habeck said in a statement on Thursday.
     Fertiglobe, a UAE-based partnership between Dutch OCI
 OCI.AS  and Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (ADNOC), won the first
tender for green ammonia which is used to make green hydrogen.
It will be produced in Egypt, where 273 megawatts of renewable
energy plants are being built, the ministry said. 
    The tender's volume accounts for more than 10% of Germany's
annual ammonia production, with production cost of 811 euros
($880) per tonne, the ministry said.
    The bids for the tender were conducted under the H2Global
programme, which Germany introduced in 2021 to drive the global
market ramp-up of green hydrogen and boost investments. 
    "The successful auction via our H2Global instrument is a
start, and further steps will follow soon," Habeck added.
    The ministry said it is working on another round of some 3.5
billion euros green hydrogen import contracts, including a
second 600 million euro funding round which will be co-financed
with the Netherlands.
    ($1 = 0.9214 euros)

 (Reporting by Riham Alkousaa. Editing by Jane Merriman)
 ((Riham.Alkousaa@thomsonreuters.com;))