Et is supposed to be the beginning of a new hydrogen age: With the symbolic opening of a gas tap, Economics Minister Robert Habeck and his ministerial colleague from the United Arab Emirates, Sultan Al Jaber, sealed a new partnership for the long-term supply of hydrogen products. Habeck had agreed on the cooperation during a trip to the Gulf States in March. “At the time I was skeptical that it would still work this year,” he admitted. Sultan Al Jaber described the strengths of his company as pragmatic and business-oriented. A lot has already been invested in the development of hydrogen technology and they are willing to push this further with the support of the German partners. The first test delivery by Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) recently arrived in Hamburg, where both the city itself and port company HHLA are preparing to play a key role in hydrogen supply chains.
“Here we can see how the future is created,” Habeck said to journalists on the premises of the copper specialist Aurubis, where the first tank had arrived – filled with ammonia, a substance that is considered the ideal means of transport for hydrogen.
Aurubis wants to use ammonia directly as a fuel, namely as an additive to conventional gas in the production of copper wire. This has not yet been tested on an industrial scale. The delivery of 13 tons of ammonia should now enable a series of tests. If the eight-week pilot project is successful, up to 4,000 tons of CO2 could be saved annually through use in the Hamburg Aurubis plant alone.
Praise from the factory, criticism from environmentalists
“With the pilot project, we are underlining our pioneering role in the decarbonization of our industry,” said Aurubis CEO Roland Harings at the start of the test: “We want to produce climate-neutral well before 2050. Ammonia can be an important building block to achieve this goal.”
It depends on speed, Harings made clear. It does not make sense to wait until “green” ammonia is available to develop the processes. You have to start now, even if there is currently only “blue” ammonia. Blue or green indicates the manufacturing process of the fabric. While green ammonia can be produced with the help of renewable energies, for example with solar power in the Arab world, the use of natural gas has been common up to now. One speaks of blue ammonia when the carbon dioxide produced during the manufacturing process is captured and stored.
The development is viewed with skepticism by environmentalists. “The production of hydrogen from natural gas consumes enormous amounts of natural gas,” said BUND state director Lucas Schäfer in Hamburg. In addition, there is the energy loss for the conversion of hydrogen into ammonia for transport as well as for the CO2 capture and underground storage of the carbon. All in all, “blue hydrogen” is more harmful to the climate than the direct combustion of coal or natural gas, says Schäfer. BUND demands that hydrogen technology should be limited to truly “green” hydrogen produced from renewable energy sources.
