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Consortium to plot green hydrogen roadmap for German industrial heartland
03 September 2021IHS Markit Chemical Expert
A consortium of blue-chip German companies including Evonik and
Thyssenkrupp announced plans to study the
cross-sectoral coordinated development of green hydrogen
infrastructure and production in the Rhine-Ruhr region.
Evonik, Thyssenkrupp, E.ON, RWE, and Vonovia teamed up with the
Max Planck Institute for Chemical Energy Conversion, the
RWI-Leibniz Institute for Economic Research, and the Alfried Krupp
von Bohlen und Halbach-Foundation with the aim of accelerating the
region's green transformation.
Green hydrogen is produced using electrolysis of water using
renewable energy, delivering zero emissions.
The consortium said it aims to connect holistic solutions from
industry, the energy sector, mobility, and housing for carbon-free
hydrogen in Germany. The project will lay the groundwork for the
necessary planning for infrastructure and production, it said.
Requirements include determining cross-sectoral hydrogen demand,
measuring the expansion of renewable energies or alternative
hydrogen imports needed, and identifying necessary transport
infrastructure.
"The data collected will be used to create a roadmap that can be
used to optimally align coordinated infrastructure investments with
private sector investment cycles," the consortium said in a
statement. "Such a roadmap is a prerequisite for creating planning
security for all parties involved and for making the region an
attractive investment location," it said.
The plan will include the launch of pilot projects to provide at
least 50% of the hydrogen required with low GHG emissions by
2030.
"Green hydrogen will continue to be in short supply for years to
come. We must therefore set priorities and use it where we can
achieve the greatest climate protection effect," said Evonik
Chairman Christian Kullmann.
"So far, everyone is just optimizing their own area of activity.
With cross-sectoral cooperation, we will create synergies and
reduce the overall demand for green electricity and green energy
sources. An efficient allocation of resources can only be achieved
by working together," he added.
The linking of different sectors and industries "makes it
possible to think and shape all facets of the energy transformation
along the entire hydrogen value chain," said Martina Merz,
chairwoman at Thyssenkrupp.
Refiners
Already in the region, Shell's Rhineland complex will become
the first refinery in Germany to operate an electrolyzer plant in
July, ushering in a new era for the country's dozen refineries in
green hydrogen.
The plant, a 10-MW advanced polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM)
electrolyzer, began operating 2 July at the 140,000-b/d Wesseling
refinery, part of the 325,000-b/d integrated Rheinland facility,
according to a Shell spokesperson.
Shell is planning a tenfold increase in electrolyzer capacity
and a complementary sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) plant at the
site, both pending future funding from the EU and Germany.
A third of German refiners are making a move towards green
hydrogen production.
A 50-MW electrolyzer is in the very early stages of planning and
funding approval at BP's Lingen refinery.
Future electrolyzer projects associated with German refineries
include the giant 700-MW Westküste 100 green hydrogen
project—powered by an Orsted offshore wind farm—which is
expected to supply gas grids and produce SAF by 2030. Shell's Heide
refinery is one of 10 partners in the project consortium. In the
initial phase, a 30-MW anion exchange membrane (AEM) electrolyzer
will become operational, potentially by 2025, at the Heide
site.
Other German refineries, such as BP's Gelsenkirchen refinery,
are planning to focus heavily on decarbonizing their hydrogen while
the rest of the region's industrial outfits consider hydrogen as
part of the planned coal generation phaseout.
RWE's Lingen electrolyzer—with a planned capacity of up to
100 MW—will supply BP's nearby refinery, among other
industries, with green hydrogen from 2024.
Funding support
There is federal funding for such projects too.
BP and Shell, utilities Vattenfall and RWE, and chemical
companies BASF, Linde, and Dow are all likely to benefit from
promised German state funding for 62 hydrogen projects.
Their projects are due a share of over €8 billion ($9.73
billion) in German state and federal funds announced jointly by Germany's
Federal Ministry of Economics and Federal Ministry of Transport on
28 May.
An additional €20 billion ($24 billion) in backing for projects
is set to come from private investors and other sources so that
funding levels reach an expected €33 billion ($40 billion).
Germany's funding for the projects is contingent on the outcome
of an application for EU State Aid law exemptions under the EU's
Important Project of Common European Interest (IPCEI) program. The
EU put out a call for proposals to regional
companies to join a hydrogen IPCEI in December 2020.
--Original reporting by Mark Thomas, Chemical Week.