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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--Plans are afoot to build a 100-megawatt (MW) green hydrogen plant at the site of RWE Generation's Eemshaven coal-fired power station in northern Netherlands.
RWE Generation, part of German power major RWE AG (FWB:RWE) (Essen, Germany), is working with innogy on a feasibility study that will power the project from the nearby Westereems windfarm. The partners said that wind energy would be used to "produce considerable volumes of green hydrogen" at the 1,600-MW power plant. The news comes as the International Energy Agency (IEA) reported that clean hydrogen is currently receiving strong support from governments and businesses around the world, with the number of policies and projects "expanding rapidly."
With 52 turbines and a generation capacity of 168 MW, the Westereems windfarm is located next to the Eemshaven power station and is one of the largest onshore wind farms in the Netherlands. Power will be used for the electrolysis of water, splitting water into gaseous hydrogen (H2) and oxygen (O2). The hydrogen produced be used directly (particularly as a fuel), injected into the natural gas supply network, or converted back to electricity in a fuel cell.
"The CO2 reduction targets in transport, heat supply and industry can only be achieved if the sector coupling is promoted and emission-free energy sources are used," explained Roger Miesen, Dutch chief executive officer of RWE Generation SE. "We are convinced that green hydrogen will be an important component of a secured and clean energy supply for these sectors. This is why we start this project in line with similar projects in Germany like GET H2 in Lingen."
Hans Bünting, chief operating officer renewables of innogy SE, added: "With the current Dutch offshore wind ambitions, conversion of large volumes of surplus wind power into a storable commodity like green hydrogen can be a cost-effective solution for society, large energy consumers and other industrial users of hydrogen. As a major player in offshore and onshore wind, we believe we can better start investigating power-to-hydrogen as one technical solution of power-to-X right now than waiting. Learning experiences are necessary therefore and our Westereems Windfarm can provide a perfect fit for a large-scale demonstration project."
The companies cited the use of hydrogen for energy-intensive industries like steel, chemicals or cement as a key technology that can help them decarbonise their operations. Hydrogen can also become a sustainable fuel for the transport sector or for residential heating in the region, the partners stated. Industrial Info is tracking a number of groundbreaking projects looking to use hydrogen as a fuel in the steel-making and refining sectors. These include the world's first project for creating fossil-free steel with the HYBRIT initiative at the Lulea Steel Works in northern Sweden and a proposed project by ArcelorMittal S.A. (NYSE:MT) (Luxembourg) to build a hydrogen-based pilot project at its Hamburg steel plant in Germany "in the coming years." For additional information, see May 14, 2019, article - World's First Hydrogen-based Steel Project Moves Forward. In May, Industrial Info Sweden's premier refiner Preem AB (Stockholm, Sweden) and national energy company Vattenfall (Stockholm) teamed up to build Europe's largest hydrogen fuel production plant (20 MW) at Preem's refinery on the island of Hisingen outside the city of Gothenburg. For additional information, see May 20, 2019, article - Swedish Refinery Plans Europe's Largest Hydrogen Plant.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Our European headquarters are located in Galway, Ireland. Follow IIR Europe on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn For more information on our European coverage send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.eu or visit us online at Industrial Info Europe.
RWE Generation, part of German power major RWE AG (FWB:RWE) (Essen, Germany), is working with innogy on a feasibility study that will power the project from the nearby Westereems windfarm. The partners said that wind energy would be used to "produce considerable volumes of green hydrogen" at the 1,600-MW power plant. The news comes as the International Energy Agency (IEA) reported that clean hydrogen is currently receiving strong support from governments and businesses around the world, with the number of policies and projects "expanding rapidly."
With 52 turbines and a generation capacity of 168 MW, the Westereems windfarm is located next to the Eemshaven power station and is one of the largest onshore wind farms in the Netherlands. Power will be used for the electrolysis of water, splitting water into gaseous hydrogen (H2) and oxygen (O2). The hydrogen produced be used directly (particularly as a fuel), injected into the natural gas supply network, or converted back to electricity in a fuel cell.
"The CO2 reduction targets in transport, heat supply and industry can only be achieved if the sector coupling is promoted and emission-free energy sources are used," explained Roger Miesen, Dutch chief executive officer of RWE Generation SE. "We are convinced that green hydrogen will be an important component of a secured and clean energy supply for these sectors. This is why we start this project in line with similar projects in Germany like GET H2 in Lingen."
Hans Bünting, chief operating officer renewables of innogy SE, added: "With the current Dutch offshore wind ambitions, conversion of large volumes of surplus wind power into a storable commodity like green hydrogen can be a cost-effective solution for society, large energy consumers and other industrial users of hydrogen. As a major player in offshore and onshore wind, we believe we can better start investigating power-to-hydrogen as one technical solution of power-to-X right now than waiting. Learning experiences are necessary therefore and our Westereems Windfarm can provide a perfect fit for a large-scale demonstration project."
The companies cited the use of hydrogen for energy-intensive industries like steel, chemicals or cement as a key technology that can help them decarbonise their operations. Hydrogen can also become a sustainable fuel for the transport sector or for residential heating in the region, the partners stated. Industrial Info is tracking a number of groundbreaking projects looking to use hydrogen as a fuel in the steel-making and refining sectors. These include the world's first project for creating fossil-free steel with the HYBRIT initiative at the Lulea Steel Works in northern Sweden and a proposed project by ArcelorMittal S.A. (NYSE:MT) (Luxembourg) to build a hydrogen-based pilot project at its Hamburg steel plant in Germany "in the coming years." For additional information, see May 14, 2019, article - World's First Hydrogen-based Steel Project Moves Forward. In May, Industrial Info Sweden's premier refiner Preem AB (Stockholm, Sweden) and national energy company Vattenfall (Stockholm) teamed up to build Europe's largest hydrogen fuel production plant (20 MW) at Preem's refinery on the island of Hisingen outside the city of Gothenburg. For additional information, see May 20, 2019, article - Swedish Refinery Plans Europe's Largest Hydrogen Plant.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Our European headquarters are located in Galway, Ireland. Follow IIR Europe on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn For more information on our European coverage send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.eu or visit us online at Industrial Info Europe.
