Australian renewable green energy company Fortescue Future Industries (FFI) and E.ON, one of Europe’s largest operators of energy networks and energy infrastructure are partnering on a journey to deliver up to five million tonnes per annum of green, renewable hydrogen to Europe by 2030.
Both partners signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to execute on this ambition. Each side has committed to a research and study partnership, with further detailed documentation and steps required related to supply.
This historic partnership marks E.ON’s and FFI’s broader ambition to lead the decarbonisation of Europe and to strengthen security of green energy supply at a time when Europe needs to reduce its energy dependence on fossil fuels from Russia as quickly as possible. Five million tonnes per annum (mtpa) of renewable green hydrogen is equal to approximately one third of the calorific energy Germany imports from Russia. This will help to decarbonise thousands of medium-sized enterprises all over Germany and the Netherlands, as well as other European cities and communities to which E.ON distributes energy.
“The announcement of this historic partnership today aims to diversify the future energy security in Europe,” said Andrew Forrest, Chairman and Founder of FFI. “Green energy will reduce fossil fuel consumption dramatically in Germany and quickly help substitute Russian energy supply, while creating a massive new employment intensity industry in Australia. This is a cohesive and urgently needed part of the green industrial revolution underway here in Europe.”
“The race for large scale production and transportation of green hydrogen has taken off,” added German Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action Robert Habeck. “The agreement between E.ON and FFI is a major step forward and puts them in a pole position for the delivery of green hydrogen to German industry. I congratulate the two companies and I strongly welcome their contribution to a future without fossil fuels. We will keep fostering initiatives like this one within the German-Australian Energy Partnership.”
The parties have also agreed to work together to analyse what solutions could look like to solve infrastructure issues and to build a secure value chain.
“We cannot keep gambling our energy security and the planet’s future on fossil fuels. Green hydrogen is the practical, implementable solution to decarbonise and lower emissions,” said Julie Shuttleworth, CEO of FFI.
“We are rapidly establishing the building blocks across Australia and globally that will allow us to develop and fully integrate our world leading green technologies, manufacturing capabilities and green energy generation and distribution,” commented Elizabeth Gaines, CEO of Fortescue Metals Group, the parent company of FFI. “From the beginning of FFI our philosophy was to drive performance across the entire new renewable green hydrogen value chain. Today’s important announcement in Europe is not just signalling to the global market place that now is the time to make renewable green hydrogen but is also an exciting step forward in FFI’s journey to become one of the world’s largest green energy producers.”
For Leo Birnbaum, CEO of E.ON , the company is decisively driving forward the green energy transition in Europe and is fully committed to sustainability and climate protection.
“Renewable green hydrogen is a key element to achieving this task, while at the same time contributing to a secure and affordable future energy supply,” he said. “Our partnership with FFI is an important milestone on this path. Two major international companies are joining forces to build a hydrogen bridge from Australia to Germany and the Netherlands, based on shared values and the joint capability of realising the scale of such a project. Two together make decarbonisation possible for many, which is an encouraging message, especially in these days.”
