Commodities trader and producer Trafigura aims to reach FID on its planned 1GW green hydrogen joint venture in Denmark by the second half of 2023, according to CEO Jeremy Weir.

Singapore-based Trafigura is developing the $1bn project in Esbjerg in southwest Denmark jointly with Swiss-based H2 Energy, in which Trafigura invested in 2020. The project, which will be powered by offshore wind, is designed to produce about 100,000t/yr to supply trucks and other heavy transport vehicles.

“I see hydrogen as a very, very important part of mobility in the future,” Weir says in an earnings presentation.

$7bn – Trafigura profits for 2022

“H2 Energy really is providing the founding stone for what we are trying to develop in this area. We have got a large project in Denmark which we will hope to reach a financial decision on by the second half of [2023].”

H2 Energy has set up a joint venture with US energy company Phillips 66 to develop and operate a network of hydrogen refuelling retail sites in Germany, Austria and Denmark.

Trafigura also has a share in the Iverson eFuels green ammonia project, which will be based in the municipality of Sauda on the southwestern coast of Norway. The initial capacity of the plant will be 210,000t/yr, but the developers see potential to scale up capacity to three times that level in the future.

The company also launched a joint project with US-based technology company Amogy to study the feasibility of large-scale cracking technology to convert ammonia back into hydrogen.

Trafigura reported profits of $7.03bn for the financial year ending in September, more than double the level of the previous year.

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Author: Stuart Penson