"What about Aabenraa Havn, they can do it all?" in the energy and port industry, the Port of Aabenraa is both talked about and asked about when you, as a journalist, get around. It is the possibilities due to an exceptional harbor depth of 18 meters that make the insiders remember the harbor more than others.
Port director of Aabenraa Havn Henrik Thykjær is actually in the middle of a board seminar, but he likes to take the time to tell a story that just has to get out. The port attracts tenants to port space with great success. After Enstedværket was finally closed and demolished, the harbor area had to be rented out again to new tenants, after the owner of the plant DONG Energy was gone.
When the port began planning the future rental in 2015, the world looked different than it does today.
- In 2015, no one had yet thought about PtX and the possibilities. We expected a different process for tenants to locate here, and there were still repercussions from the financial crisis. We had expected that the area would perhaps be fully let in 2027, but we have been overtaken by reality. The area has all the resources needed to make e-fuels, and we couldn't see that at the time, says Henrik Thykjær.
The harbor area is already almost completely let. The demolition and recycling company Rimeco A/S, which has dismantled the Ensted plant, is one of the companies that has subsequently hired in.
- We can see that the entire recycling area is going to take up a lot going forward, and that is an advantage, he says.
However, there are also other companies that are moving in, and among them there is again an energy producer.
- It ranges from the local companies to an international player such as Linde Gas to other not yet announced tenants, says Henrik Thykjær.
Linde Gas is the world's largest industrial gas company measured by market share and revenue. Therefore, the hope for PtX production at the port of Aabenraa is imminent. The company is until now the largest tenant on the site where Enstedværket was located. But there are still no concrete plans that the director can talk about. However, the conditions for PtX could not be much better.
- I don't know anything yet, but we have the entire infrastructure in place, and that is positive. Here I am thinking that the area has environmental class 7, which is the highest environmental classification. There is also the right electricity infrastructure and existing piping for the district heating in Aabenraa, says the port director, who promises that only a few hundred meters of piping are needed.
Shipping of e-fuels on the way?
Almost right in the backyard from the Port of Aabenraa, European Energi will produce electricity from a solar cell plant in Kassø, which will be used for e-methanol for Mærsk's upcoming methanol-powered container ships. It is only approximately 15 km from Aabenraa Harbour, and that is also interesting for the harbour.
- It clearly makes sense to ship the methanol from the Port of Aabenraa, rather than possibly driving it to, for example, Skagen. We do not have any agreements yet and we are ready to talk to anyone who wants to make a bunker hub. There is potential here to create the Green Energy Hub Aabenraa. It can also help create jobs for the area, and that is one of our most important purposes, says Henrik Thykjær.
Another hot topic right now is the possibility of Denmark being connected to a European hydrogen pipeline. It will provide the opportunity to send the green hydrogen of the future to the companies in southern Germany, where the need for energy is enormous. There are also good chances for Aabenraa Havn.
- We will be well placed in relation to the European "hydrogen backbone". There is also enormous potential here, and it must be exploited. So there is actually an opportunity for Denmark to be an energy exporter in 15 years - and we must also export that knowledge, says the port director.
Reduction of the workforce
Despite the fact that the priority objective is to create jobs, there are considerations that must be taken for the company Aabenraa Havn.
- Our entire organization must be streamlined, because the port must be operated on commercial terms. Therefore, we are going to reduce the staff by 25 per cent. - says Henrik Thykjær.
The port is today up to 20 employees, since five employees from Ensted Bulk Terminal were taken over on 1 November last year. Therefore, there is now a need to dismiss five employees. It is by no means certain that it is the incorporated employees who are facing dismissal now.
- We have taken an assessment phase of three months, so there is a better basis for being able to assess who will stay, says Henrik Thykjær about the redundancies that are taking place these days.
Awaiting legislation
While there are redundancies right now and here, the future with possible PtX may be just around the corner, but like other ports and energy companies, the Port of Aabenraa is waiting for the framework conditions in the form of legislation to arrive. The companies have already done their homework, experiences Henrik Thykjær.
- We hear from the actors that they are ready to move when the legislation is in place, he says.
In the meantime, the normal port operations for Aabenraa Havn are already running on rails.
- We are a supply port for the whole of Southern Jutland and Northern Germany of raw materials for the construction industry. It is sand, shards, lime and cement that pass through the port in addition to grain and feed, says Henrik Thykjær finally about an already healthy business.
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