Сost of hydrogen project of Naftogaz, RWE for production of green ammonia estimated at EUR 500 mln – Vitrenko
The cost of a pilot hydrogen project of Naftogaz Ukrainy and RWE Supply & Trading (Germany) for the production of green ammonia is tentatively estimated at EUR 500 million, head of NJSC Naftogaz Ukrainy Yuriy Vitrenko has said.
"We now estimate the cost of this project at approximately EUR 500 million. The economic effect of this project will significantly exceed the investment in it, but a lot depends on regulation, both in the European market and in Germany, because this entire green hydrogen industry is new, and even now there is no final decision by the German government how it will develop hydrogen energy in Germany, and the final profitability of the project depends on this," he said in an interview with DW.
According to him, depending on the options for the implementation of the project, the term of its implementation is from one to three years.
Vitrenko recalled that within the framework of the project with RWE, it is planned to produce green hydrogen from renewable electricity and water, which will be further processed into green ammonia with its subsequent transportation by sea to Germany.
The head of Naftogaz noted that Ukraine has significant opportunities for renewable energy with the subsequent production of green hydrogen. At the same time, due to the high feed-in tariff for electricity producers from solar, wind and hydroelectric power plants, the country is already investing billions of dollars in green energy.
"Much depends on the interest and effective demand for green hydrogen in Europe. We must honestly say that rich countries of Europe should take on a certain responsibility for providing certain subsidies for green hydrogen [...] Thus, these funds are invested in improving the environment and combating the climate change on a global scale," he said.
As reported, Naftogaz Ukrainy and RWE Supply & Trading signed a memorandum of understanding in August 2021, agreeing to analyze the possibilities of mutually beneficial cooperation to create production of green hydrogen and its derivatives, in particular ammonia. In particular, we are talking about the development of projects for production and storage of green hydrogen and ammonia in Ukraine and their export to Germany.