Project AZAN

In June 2023, VNG signed a letter of intent with its partners EnBW (Energie Baden-Württemberg AG) and the Japanese energy group JERA with the aim of jointly conducting a feasibility study on the construction of a demonstration ammonia cracker plant.

In connection with the AZAN project, the partners want to investigate the feasibility of building a demonstration plant for the production of hydrogen (H2) from ammonia (NH3) in the Rostock port district. Operating the plant will generate insights into process optimisation, the organisation of supply & demand and the economic conditions along the entire value chain.

Location 

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Rostock
(Mecklenburg Western Pomerania)

Partner

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EnBW
JERA

Quantity

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500-1.500t H2 per year
 

Ammonia cracking for Germany’s H2 supply

As the hydrogen market ramps up, ammonia will be one of the most important media in the transport of this energy carrier. As a chemical compound of hydrogen and nitrogen, ammonia is an ideal carrier for importing large amounts of hydrogen from sunny and windy regions of the Earth to Germany. Ammonia cracker plants break down ammonia to obtain free hydrogen so that it can be forwarded on to German consumers and customers.

The port of Rostock already has an ammonia terminal and storage facility, making it an excellent site for an ammonia cracker. The AZAN project will see the creation of a demonstration cracker plant to investigate the feasibility of the process. The plant will generate up to 1,500 tonnes of H2 per year to key customers and generate valuable datapoints in the areas of operational optimisation, supply chains and economic framework conditions.

Once the demonstration project has been successfully completed, a full-scale ammonia cracker will be built in the next phase of the project. This will produce 70,000 to 140,000 tonnes of H2 per year (depending on the stage of construction), which will be fed into the future hydrogen backbone.

Grafik AZAN EN

“Cracking is the missing link between imported ammonia and hydrogen that is ready for use. Only through cracking will we be able to obtain the quantities required to cover future hydrogen needs in Germany and Europe. The technology is available but still has not been scaled up to full production size. That’s why we are particularly pleased to be working on this project with our partners.”

Clemens Lange, Head of Business Development & Green Transformation VNG Handel & Vertrieb GmbH

Which VNG Group company is involved?

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Press release
 

Further information on the AZAN project can be found in the press release.

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