Denmark Orders World's First 1-Gigawatt Hydrogen Electrolyzer

Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--Denmark's leading green hydrogen project has moved forward with a contract awarded to U.S. company Plug Power Incorporated (NASDAQ:PLUG) (Latham, New York) for the world's first 1-gigawatt (GW) electrolyzer.

Project developer H2 Energy Europe (Zurich, Switzerland) said that the electrolyzer will be installed at Esbjerg on the west coast of Denmark's Jutland peninsula. The companies claimed that the electrolyzer, which will be installed in 2024, is the largest capacity electrolyzer installation in the world to date. The Power-to-X project will be powered by electricity produced by offshore windfarms in the North Sea and is supported by the Danish government. From 2025, it will be capable of producing up to 100,000 metric tonnes per year of green hydrogen for use in the energy and transportation sector in northern Europe, supplying the fuel needed for the equivalent of approximately 15,000 heavy duty vehicles per day.

H2 Energy Europe, a joint venture between commodity trading firm Trafigura Pte Ltd. (Singapore) and H2 Energy Holding AG, was the first to develop and deliver hydrogen fuel cell trucks to commercial users and create a green hydrogen fueling ecosystem in Switzerland. The company signed a deal in 2019 with Hyundai Motor (Seoul, South Korea) for the delivery of 1,600 fuel cell trucks. Earlier this year, H2 Energy joined forces with Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX) (Houston, Texas) to develop up to 250 retail hydrogen refueling stations across Germany, Austria and Denmark by 2026 through a 50-50 joint venture between their subsidiaries.

"Plug Power's unique knowledge and market position within the green hydrogen ecosystem made our choice of collaboration very easy. We have the same ambitions to reduce CO2 emissions and create a world where hydrogen is the future of energy," said Rolf Huber, founder and chief executive officer, H2 Energy.

"We see green hydrogen as the future and have made significant investments in green hydrogen including in the construction of a gigafactory for electrolyzer production," added Andy Marsh, chief executive officer of Plug. "Our operational readiness and manufacturing capacity were key determinants in our selection for the world's largest order to date, and we are pleased to be a part of this project with H2 Energy."

Industrial Info has been tracking the rapid growth of hydrogen projects in Europe. In March, three countries--Germany, Norway and Denmark--announced ambitious hydrogen targets and investment support. In Denmark, the coalition government announced its intention to rapidly boost production of green hydrogen in order to "minimize reliance on fossil fuel imports and attain carbon neutrality." The government aims to create up to 6 GW of electrolysis capacity by 2030 to convert renewable energy into green hydrogen for the manufacturing of ammonia and methanol. Funding amounting to $185 million has been allocated to kickstart the process. For additional information, see March 29, 2022, article-European Nations Strike Hydrogen Deals.

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