Fluxys, Advario Stolthaven Antwerp and Advario Gas Terminal have joined forces to study the feasibility of building an open-access green ammonia import terminal at the Port of Antwerp-Bruges, according to Fluxys's release. The plan is to offer the market a robust solution to its growing demands for importing and storing green energy and raw materials against a backdrop of ongoing decarbonisation.
By combining their strengths and expertise in logistics, terminalling and pipeline transmission, Fluxys, Advario Stolthaven Antwerp (a 50-50 joint venture with Stolthaven Terminals) and Advario Gas Terminal want to ascertain the optimum ammonia terminalling solution for northwest Europe. They aim to have the terminal operational in 2027. Fluxys and the Advario terminals are now engaging with major industrial operators and energy suppliers to introduce their project.
Located in the heart of Europe, at Belgium's Port of Antwerp-Bruges, the future terminal will deliver storage and multimodal sendout solutions for ammonia (train, truck, barge and possibly ammonia pipelines connected to local industrial sites), while optionally also providing facilities to convert ammonia back into hydrogen. The terminal will also connect to the Fluxys open-access hydrogen network to ensure supply throughout northwest Europe.
The ammonia import terminal dovetails seamlessly with the partners’ strategy for implementing Europe's hydrogen strategy and the REPowerEU plan by providing decarbonisation infrastructure and effectively making Belgium a European hub for the import and export of molecules essential to the carbon-neutral economy. REPowerEU has set a target of 20 million tonnes of green hydrogen consumption by 2030, one fifth of which should be covered by ammonia imports.
Ammonia is a key factor in the decarbonisation of Europe and importing it is an efficient way of bringing in large quantities of green energy and raw materials from overseas, where the abundance of solar and wind energy can be used to make hydrogen (H2), which can then be combined with nitrogen (N2) from the air to produce ammonia.