Fortescue Future Industries (FFI) and Tree Energy Solutions (TES) have announced an agreement to develop the world’s largest green hydrogen integrated project to help Europe mitigate its current energy and climate crisis.

Energy security in the current energy crisis 

In a statement, the companies said that the partnership will see them work collaboratively to address the significant dual challenges of energy security and energy transition. Together, the firms aim to develop industrial scale green hydrogen production globally, with an initial focus on Australia, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

The agreement will accelerate the development of a world-leading green hydrogen and green energy import facility in Germany. The investment of €130m (US$12m) will be funded by FFI’s unutilised capital commitment and provides FFI with a pathway for access to critical infrastructure to execute its strategy.

Furthermore, the partnership will combine FFI’s market leading expertise in developing large scale renewable energy production, with TES’s distinct sustainable business model and access to the European green hydrogen market.

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.”

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, the statement said, adding that the FID target was 2023.

Sustainable and abundant energy in Europe

In addition, 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 a TES import terminal in Wilhelmshaven, Germany.

Through the agreement, FFI subsidiary Netherlands Fortescue Future Industries Holdings B.V. will invest €30m (US$2m) to become a shareholder in Tree Energy Solutions BV as well as invest €100m (US$98m) in the construction of the TES terminal in Wilhelmshaven, Germany, and be a major shareholder with a 30% stake in Deutsche Grüngas und Energieversorgung GmbH (a subsidiary of TES), the project company that will build the TES Green Energy Hub in Wilhelmshaven, Germany.

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. 

The first deliveries of green hydrogen into the TES terminal in Wilhelmshaven are expected to take place in 2026. Furthermore, the companies said that the jointly developed green hydrogen projects will produce enough green renewable energy to supply 1.5m households.

The 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, the statement said, adding that TES’ model allows for the conversion of large amounts of renewable electrons from sunny and windy locations into the most affordable renewable gas.

FFI CEO Mark Hutchinson added: “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 5m tonnes of green hydrogen to Germany, commencing from mid-decade.

The agreement means that FFI joins a group of international partners that are strategic investors in TES. These include E.ON, HSBC, UniCredit, and Zodiac Maritime.