Uniper completes Phase 1 of ammonia import terminal, maximum annual throughput of 2.6 million tonnes

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On September 4, Uniper Hydrogen completed the market sounding phase of the Open Season for the hydrogen import terminal in Wilhelmshaven, Germany, signing letters of intent with market participants. The capacity demand received meets the conditions to proceed with the project. The project has now entered its second phase, with the next step being the issuance of Heads of Terms to participants and the joint development of a Terminal Use Agreement. Under the process established by Uniper, capacity only becomes a binding reservation once the Terminal Use Agreement is signed. The company has not yet disclosed the list of participating companies in this round or the total volume of capacity applied for.

The terminal is planned to enable large-scale hydrogen imports via ammonia transport. After liquid ammonia is unloaded at Wilhelmshaven, it will be converted into hydrogen in a large-scale onshore ammonia cracker and fed into Germany's planned hydrogen core network. The project also includes plans for rail loading facilities for ammonia transport. The terminal adopts a modular design, with the maximum annual processing capacity expandable to 2.6 million tonnes of ammonia, corresponding to approximately 350,000 tonnes of hydrogen. Should further expansion be supported by future market demand, Uniper plans to launch one or more new Open Seasons with corresponding capacity products and commercial terms.

The project is currently still in the engineering design and commercial development preparation stage. Uniper project documentation shows that the Wilhelmshaven hydrogen import terminal is establishing design principles and engineering foundations, while concurrently advancing the commercial scheme and permitting process. The company has previously initiated pre-FEED work for a commercial-scale ammonia cracker to further define the project's design basis, engineering scope, and techno-economic conditions, providing a foundation for the subsequent FEED phase.

The ammonia cracking technology is being developed in cooperation between Uniper and thyssenkrupp Uhde. The two parties have previously signed a framework agreement for technology cooperation and licensing, with the license package covering engineering services, main equipment, and catalyst supply. As a technology validation basis for the large-scale Wilhelmshaven facility, the two parties are also building a demonstration cracker with a daily processing capacity of 28 tonnes of ammonia in Gelsenkirchen-Scholven, Germany. The technology is planned to be subsequently applied to the commercial-scale import terminal in Wilhelmshaven.

Uniper's current plans indicate that the Wilhelmshaven import terminal will in the future be connected to Germany's hydrogen core network, enabling hydrogen produced from cracking to be fed directly into the pipeline network, as well as into underground salt cavern hydrogen storage facilities. The project is planned to commence operations in the first half of the 2030s, with the final implementation timeline still subject to engineering development, permitting procedures, and commercial conditions.