Hamburg’s Authority for Environment, Climate, Energy and Agriculture (BUKEA) has officially granted MB Energy the permit to build and operate a new ammonia import terminal at the Port of Hamburg. Pending a final investment decision, this project marks a major step forward in establishing Germany’s first large scale ammonia import hub.
The new terminal will be located at the site of the Blumensand tank terminal, which MB Energy notes is the largest tank terminal in the port. The facility is being designed to handle an estimated throughput of 600,000 metric tonnes of lower carbon and renewable ammonia per year.
MB Energy plans to build a new tank for temporary ammonia storage. The project also includes upgrading the existing berth to accommodate both inland barges and seagoing vessels, alongside the installation of new loading facilities for railcars.
The imported ammonia will serve several critical uses across the supply chain, functioning as an industrial raw material, a hydrogen storage medium, and a power source for gas fired power stations. This development is part of the broader New Energy Gate Project, which also incorporates methanol handling at the same Blumensand site.
Looking ahead, MB Energy has outlined potential plans to add a feed in facility connecting to a future cracker plant, which would be developed separately. This addition would allow the imported ammonia to be split into hydrogen and fed directly into a future hydrogen grid network.
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Volker Ebeling, Senior Vice President of New Energy, Supply & Infrastructure at MB Energy, highlighted the permitting process as a key milestone. He noted that the planned terminal will send a strong signal for a future oriented and reliable supply of energy and raw materials in the region.