Norwegian Hydrogen Partners for Regional Hydrogen Supply
Norwegian Hydrogen AS announced a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Provaris and Uniper to strengthen the development of hydrogen supply from the Nordics to import hubs in North-Western Europe.
Utilising insights from successful pre-development activities
The Parties intend to collaborate to explore the possibility of Uniper off-taking RFNBO-compliant H2 from export projects being developed by Norwegian Hydrogen in collaboration with Provaris.
The supply and transport are targeted in compressed gaseous H2 with delivery to a port defined by Uniper utilising Provaris’ GH2 Carriers and GH2 Storage barges.
Provaris and Norwegian Hydrogen extended their collaboration in April 2024 to accelerate the development of new hydrogen export sites across the Nordic region. They are utilising insights from successful pre-development activities for the FjordH2 project.
Projects in the Nordic region will be strategically located in areas with robust grid connections and power supplies. Hydrogen production and compression facilities will provide a cost-competitive supply to Europe.
“We remain highly committed to our collaboration with Provaris since 2022. I cannot think of a better off-take partner than Uniper to support the development of our joint projects.
This new agreement is positive for all the three parties involved. I am confident it will bring strong and tangible results,“ said Jens Berge, CEO of Norwegian Hydrogen.
High importance to German economy
The supply of hydrogen is key to energy security and decarbonisation ambitions for German industrial sectors and energy generators.
The development of a portfolio of supply alternatives delivered to national hydrogen infrastructure is of great importance for the competitiveness of the German economy. It is also central to achieving decarbonisation targets.
Uniper continues systematically evaluating a portfolio of alternatives and opportunities for hydrogen along the entire value chain. From production and trading to transport, storage and distribution.
Uniper’s diversified hydrogen portfolio consists of various supply sources to guarantee competitive and secure supplies in line with customer needs.
Uniper continued its strong first-quarter earnings performance in the second quarter of 2024 and raised its earnings forecast.
The company recorded an adjusted EBITDA of €1,743 million in the first half of 2024. As anticipated, this was significantly below the prior-year figure of €4,113 million, which reflected successful optimisation transactions relating to gas replacement procurement in conjunction with undelivered gas from Russia.
Provaris Energy Managing Director and CEO Martin Carolan said: “We are thrilled to bring our partnerships with Uniper and Norwegian Hydrogen together.
“This collaboration highlights the business case for compression in becoming a preferred alternative for a cost-competitive solution to supply RFNBO-compliant hydrogen, offering capital and energy efficiency for regional hydrogen supply.”
The terms of the MOU are non-exclusive and non-binding, to develop binding agreements required for the supply and offtake of hydrogen, along with the necessary contracts for shipping with the H2 Project.
