(Berlin) - During a visit to Berlin by the Energy Minister of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Sultan Al Jaber and Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck deepened the energy cooperation between the two countries, especially on the subject of hydrogen. In a subsequent joint discussion with German business representatives, “the next steps to expand hydrogen production and hydrogen trading were discussed,” the Ministry of Economic Affairs said. Accordingly, the “common goal is to accelerate the ramp-up of the hydrogen economy”. Minister Al Jaber's visit to Berlin followed Habeck's visit in mid-March Abu Dhabi.
Cooperations confirmed
The ministers have concluded several cooperation agreements to implement a common hydrogen economy. On March 21, 2022, the Emirati oil and gas company ADNOC signed an agreement with the German company Hydrogenious LOHC Technologies GmbH and Uniper SE, which is majority owned by the Finnish energy group Fortum, to set up a supply chain for green hydrogen between Abu Dhabi and Wilhelmshaven. As part of the demonstration project, seven to ten thousand tons of hydrogen are to be transported to Germany every year. The first deliveries are expected for 2025.
There are further agreements to test a transport chain for blue ammonia. The first test delivery from the UAE is expected to arrive in the port of Hamburg in the second half of 2022. The Emirati Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure (MOEI) also wants to work with the German Fraunhofer Society in developing the Emirati hydrogen strategy.
Task force has started work
The Emirati-German energy partnership in the areas of hydrogen and renewable energies, which has existed since 2017, is an initiative of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection and the MOEI, which is supported by Guidehouse and the German-Emirati Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The partnership resulted in a bilateral task force for hydrogen and synthetic fuels, whose working groups met for the first time in March.
The United Arab Emirates want to invest around 2050 billion euros in the expansion of renewable energies by 148. By 2030, the UAE is targeting a 25 percent share of the global green and blue hydrogen market. According to the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Germany is considered the main sales market alongside Japan and South Korea.
At the beginning of May, Habeck made an agreement during a visit to New Delhi India in the areas of production, further processing, application and transport of green hydrogen. In March, Germany and Norway a cooperation to “import large volumes of hydrogen from Norway to Germany as quickly as possible”.
Photos
Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection (BMWK) in Berlin © BMWK / Stefan Müller
