First Green Ammonia Hub to Be Built at Vesta’s Netherlands Terminal
The feasibility of creating the first green ammonia hub by refurbishing and expanding an existing energy storage facility in the Netherlands is being explored as part of the efforts to develop a long-term energy approach for Northern Europe free from Russian imports. German energy giant Uniper will be working with Dutch Vesta Terminals to explore the potential to create the new hub at the existing facility which they said could be in operation by 2026.
The project will evaluate the feasibility of refurbishing and expanding an existing storage facility located at Vlissingen in the Netherlands. Positioned at the Port of Flushing, which is the third largest in the Netherlands, the facility is also strategically located on the Scheldt River, which connects the ports of Antwerp and Ghent/Terneuzen to the North Sea.
Vesta Terminals in Vlissingen, the Netherlands currently has 60,000 cbm of refrigerated storage capacity built for ammonia. Vesta also highlights that it has space and is negotiating for additional space that combined would permit it to more than double its overall operation as the only specialized liquid bulk operator in Flushing. As a future hub, they report it will be able to handle an initial throughput capacity of 0.96 mtpa. The terminal is well located for the supply of green ammonia by seagoing vessels re-loading into barges and rail tank cars. In a second phase, the throughput capacity of the facility can be expanded to 1.92 mtpa and the terminal will be connected to the Dutch hydrogen pipeline network.
As part of the Memorandum of Understanding signed by the companies, Uniper intends to book capacity in the terminal to create an entry point into the Northwest European markets for the growing green Ammonia and Hydrogen activities within the Uniper group.
A potential capacity booking in Vlissingen will accompany Uniper’s efforts to create several access points for green energy into Europe and will be pursued in parallel to its ongoing Wilhelmshaven ammonia terminal project. At Wilhelmshaven, Uniper is not only building the first LNG import terminal in Germany but also planning an import terminal for green ammonia. The Wilhelmshaven site will become a green energy hub and is setting the course for an even more climate-friendly energy supply.
The Greenpoint Valley project in Vlissingen they said will become a gateway of green ammonia and hydrogen into Europe. By developing the green ammonia and hydrogen markets, the companies’ goal is to further strengthen the security of the energy supply in Europe.