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 the company's release.
The aim is to offer a solution to the growing demand for importing and storing green energy and raw materials as the decarbonisation drive continues across Europe.
By combining their strengths and expertise in logistics, storage 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 storage solution for northwest Europe.
Fluxys, an independent energy infrastructure group headquartered in Belgium, and the Advario terminals are now engaging with major industrial operators and energy suppliers to introduce their project.
Located at Belgium’s Port of Antwerp-Bruges, the future terminal – which is expected to be operational in 2027 – will deliver storage and multimodal logistics solutions for ammonia (train, truck, barge and possibly ammonia pipelines connected to local industrial sites).
It will also provide facilities to convert ammonia back into hydrogen and connect to the Fluxys open-access hydrogen network to ensure supply throughout north-west Europe.
Importing ammonia 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, which can then be combined with nitrogen from the air to produce ammonia.
The project also aligns with the REPowerEU programme, which has set a target of 20 million tonnes of green hydrogen consumption by 2030, one fifth of which should be covered by ammonia imports.