Shell Starts Europe's Largest Green Hydrogen Plant

Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE:RDS-A) (The Hague, Netherlands) has fired up Europe's largest PEM green hydrogen electrolyser at its Energy and Chemicals Park Rheinland, near Cologne in Germany.

The 30 million euro (US$33.6 million) 10-megawatt (MW) Refhyne project at the Rheinland Wesserling refinery is backed by a European consortium of companies and received funding from the European Commission (EC). It is the first fully operational plant to use polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) technology at this scale in a refinery. The electrolyser, manufactured by ITM power in Sheffield, U.K., will use renewable electricity to produce up to 1,300 tonnes of green hydrogen a year. It will initially be used to produce fuels with lower carbon intensity.

Industrial Info is also tracking plans to expand the capacity of the electrolyser from 10 MW to 100 MW, where Shell also intends to produce sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) using renewable power and biomass in the future. The company also has plans to build a plant for liquefied renewable natural gas (bio-LNG). The Power-to-Liquids (PTL) unit will use Fischer-Tropsch technology to produce 100,000 tonnes per year of synthetic fuels, mainly for the aviation sector, using green hydrogen from the onsite electrolyser and biomass (waste wood).

"This project demonstrates a new kind of energy future and a model of lower-carbon energy production that can be replicated worldwide," said Shell's downstream director, Huibert Vigeveno. "Shell wants to become a leading supplier of green hydrogen for industrial and transport customers in Germany. We will be involved in the whole process--from power generation, using offshore wind, to hydrogen production and distribution across sectors."

Shell plans to transform its refinery footprint to five core energy and chemicals parks as part of its energy transition that will see the company reduce the production of traditional fuels by 55% by 2030.

Armin Laschet, North Rhine-Westphalia's Minister-President, said: "We are a hydrogen region. With the commissioning of the largest PEM electrolysis plant in Europe, we are further expanding our leading role in this field. We are therefore laying the foundation for a modern and green industry, with highly skilled jobs. Today, 30% of German demand for hydrogen already comes from North Rhine-Westphalia's industry. Estimates predict that demand will double by 2030. This is why we need innovative solutions that will meet the demand for CO2-neutral hydrogen. Projects such as Refhyne demonstrate how innovation can benefit both the environment and the economy."

Last month, Industrial Info reported that Shell and Dow Incorporated (NYSE:DOW) (Midland, Michigan) had received funding from the Dutch government for their efforts to electrify ethylene steam crackers using renewable energy. For the past year, the companies have been working on electrification solutions for today's steam crackers while also pursuing new technologies for future e-crackers. The companies are evaluating construction of a multi-megawatt pilot plant at an unnamed site in the Netherlands with potential start-up in 2025. For additional information, see June 30, 2021, article--Shell and Dow Get Funding Boost for Greener Ethylene.

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