Germany okays funding for major green hydrogen project

A project in Germany that aims to establish a regional hydrogen economy on an industrial scale has received support and funding approval from the federal energy ministry.

As part of the “real-world laboratories fostering the energy transition” programme, the Westkueste100 project got approval for EUR 30 million (USD 35.6m) of funding for the project’s launch this month. It has secured EUR 89 million in total, the project consortium said Monday.

EDF Deutschland, Holcim Deutschland, OGE, Ørsted Deutschland, Raffinerie Heide, municipal utility Thuega, and thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions are part of this consortium. The Region Heide development agency and the Westküste University of Applied Sciences are also participating. Together they will produce hydrogen with renewable energy, use the gas network to transport it, and then supply it to industrial plants, while also interlinking different material cycles within the existing infrastructure.

In the first phase a 30-MW electrolyser powered by offshore wind will be installed to produce hydrogen. This is expected to take five years. The facility will bring insight into the operation, maintenance, control and grid compatibility of the system. It will be built by H2 Westkueste GmbH, a joint venture established by EDF Deutschland, Ørsted and Raffinerie Heide.

The next stage of the project will involve a much bigger facility of up to a few hundred megawatts. Again, the plan is to use power from offshore wind.

“An electrolysis plant with a capacity of 700 MW – this is our vision and the next milestone in implementing the development targets laid down in the national hydrogen strategy by 2030,” said project coordinator Juergen Wollschlaeger, adding that industry, science and politicians need to work together to make this possible.

(EUR 1 = USD 1.19)

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