Green Wilhelmshaven

According to the National Hydrogen Strategy, German hydrogen demand is to be met by a combination of in-house production and the import of hydrogen from other countries. In the Green Wilhelmshaven project, this idea is taken up by enabling the import of hydrogen by means of ammonia on a large scale, but at the same time also producing green hydrogen by electrolysis on site. This will build up capacities that together could cover 10-20 % of the hydrogen demand for the whole of Germany in 2030.

Sub-project: "Green Wilhelmshaven Terminal" 

At the heart of Uniper's project is an import terminal for green ammonia in Wilhelmshaven - including a so-called "ammonia cracker" that enables the conversion of ammonia into green hydrogen and nitrogen. Green ammonia can be used well to transport hydrogen, as it has a high energy density as well as good storability.

Before the green ammonia can be converted into hydrogen in Germany, however, it must first be produced in the exporting country by catalytic synthesis from nitrogen and green hydrogen. Then, due to its good transportability, it can be shipped, for example, by ship to Wilhelmshaven and finally converted back into green hydrogen in the ammonia cracker (in the NH3 cracking plant). However, the production of the ammonia before transport and the reconversion to hydrogen in Germany mean losses that reduce the overall efficiency. Due to its good transport properties, however, the green ammonia can make a decisive contribution to significantly increasing the security of supply of green hydrogen. The plant in Wilhelmshaven is to be the first scaled-up plant of its kind in Germany.

Sub-project: "Green Wilhelmshaven Electrolyser"

In addition, an electrolysis plant of around one gigawatt is planned in the "Green Wilhelmshaven" project. The green hydrogen produced will be used in particular to supply local industry, but can also be fed into the grid. Together with the hydrogen production in the "ammonia cracker", according to plans, 300,000 tons of hydrogen can eventually be produced - which corresponds to around 10-20 % of Germany's planned hydrogen demand in 2030.

In the "Green Wilhelmshaven" project, the region's infrastructural advantages can also be exploited, since the salt caverns in Etzel or Krummhörn enable the large-scale storage of hydrogen.

More about the project can be found here.

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