Berlin & Perth – 5th October, 2022 – Fortescue Future Industries (“FFI”) and Tree Energy Solutions (“TES”) have agreed to develop the world’s largest green hydrogen integrated project to help Europe mitigate its current energy and climate crisis and to bring green molecules to Europe.
- The first phase of this partnership is to jointly develop and invest in the supply of 300,000 tonnes of green hydrogen with final locations being currently agreed. FID target2023
- FFI and TES have agreed terms for FFI to make an equity investment of €30m to become a strategic shareholder in TES and to invest €100m for a significant stake in the construction of the TES import terminal in Wilhelmshaven, Germany.
- Until now there has been a critical missing link in the green hydrogen supply chain to Europe.
- First deliveries of green hydrogen into the TES terminal in Wilhelmshaven, Germany are expected to take place in 2026.
- The jointly developed green hydrogen projects will produce enough green renewable energy to supply 1.5 million households.
- This initiative leverages FFI’s market-leading expertise in developing large-scale renewable energy production and TES’s pioneering business model which combines hydrogen with recycled CO2 to create an efficient, circular, closed net-zero, energy loop.
- Through today’s announcement, FFI joins a prestigious group of international partners that are strategic investors in TES, including E.ON, HSBC, UniCredit, and Zodiac Maritime.
The partnership will see the companies work collaboratively to address the significant dual challenges of energy security and energy transition. Together, FFI and TES will develop industrial scale green hydrogen production globally with an initial focus on Australia, Europe, Middle East and Africa.
Further they will combine FFI’s market leading expertise in developing large scale renewable energy production, with TES’s unique sustainable business model and access to the European green hydrogen market.
To provide immediate energy security for Europe, the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection recently selected TES to jointly develop and implement Germany’s fifth Floating Storage Regasification Unit in Wilhelmshaven. In parallel, the TES terminal will serve as the primary entry point for clean, safe, affordable and abundant energy in Europe, as well as a catalyst for a circular carbon economy. TES will import green hydrogen in the form of renewable natural gas, which is economical, easy to transport and store, as it can leverage existing global energy infrastructure along the value chain. The CO2 will serve as a carrier: when the gas reaches Germany, it will be captured and transported back to the supply location, where the hydrogen is produced, in a circular, closed-loop zero-carbon system.
This new collaboration with FFI demonstrates TES’ commitment to make its contribution to the global energy transition by accelerating the import and production of green molecules as a lower cost alternative to today’s fossil fuels. TES offers a unique model to convert large amounts of renewable electrons from sunny and windy locations into the most affordable renewable gas.
Marco Alverà, CEO of TES, said:” We are delighted to announce this partnership which marks a new milestone in delivering scalable, affordable green hydrogen as well as securing renewable energy production. This agreement is another stepping stone in building TES as one of the leading hydrogen players in the world to accelerate the energy transition with the most cost-effective, bankable and scalable green alternative to today’s fossil fuels.”
Executive Chairman and Founder of Fortescue Future Industries, Dr Andrew Forrest said: “The UK and Europe urgently need green energy solutions to replace fossil fuels. This important investment will help to do exactly that. Not in 2050, in four years from now.
FFI CEO Mark Hutchinson said: “This investment supports the delivery of Fortescue’s supply agreement with E.ON, Germany’s largest energy distributor. In March this year we announced we would supply 5 million tonnes of green hydrogen to Germany, commencing from mid-decade.”
