The Hamburg Green Hydrogen Hub (HGHH) project company is building a 100 MW electrolysis plant for green hydrogen at the site of the former Moorburg coal-fired power plant. The HGHH consortium, consisting of Luxcara and Hamburger Energiewerke, has commissioned Siemens Energy to supply and install the electrolyzer units. The company will supply six units of its latest electrolyzer model, which together form the 100 MW electrolyzer. Construction work for the electrolyzer is scheduled to begin next year. Commercial operation is scheduled to start in 2027. Around 10,000 tons of green hydrogen will be produced at the HGHH every year. In addition to supplying the electrolyzer units, HGHH and Siemens Energy are entering into a long-term partnership with a ten-year maintenance contract. Both parties have agreed not to disclose the value of the contract.

The stacks: the heart of an electrolyzer: are manufactured in Siemens Energy's new Gigafactory in Berlin and assembled at their Mühlheim site and at another European partner. The selected electrolyzer is based on proton exchange membrane (PEM) technology, which uses electricity to split water into hydrogen and oxygen along a membrane. This technology is particularly suitable for operating with a dynamic supply of renewable energy, due to an inherent flexibility in production.

In mid-July of this year, Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection, Robert Habeck, announced the funding of the large-scale hydrogen project by the Federal Government and the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg in Berlin. Shortly afterwards, Federal Minister Habeck, in the presence of Hamburg's Senator for Economic Affairs, Melanie Leonhard, and Hamburg's Senator for the Environment, Jens Kerstan, personally handed over the IPCEI* funding notice from the federal and state governments at the future green hydrogen site in Moorburg. The EU Commission had previously given the green light for the funding for the IPCEI project in mid-February 2024, paving the way for national funding.

Christoph Cosler, Head of Business Development at Hamburger Energiewerke and Managing Director of HGHH:

“The order for the electrolyzer is a milestone for our project. The decisive factor for this step was the national funding decision that we received for our project in mid-July. After all the preparatory work, we are now moving on to the actual implementation. Construction of the electrolyzer, which will be a core element of the Hamburg hydrogen site, will start as early as next year.”

Holger Matthiesen, Project Director at Luxcara and Managing Director of HGHH:

“With Siemens Energy, we have gained one of the most experienced suppliers of electrolyzers for the production of green hydrogen. Thanks to the selected PEM technology, the proximity to Siemens Energy's Berlin Gigafactory and a dense service network, the HGHH project benefits from high efficiency and availability.”

Alexey Ustinov, Head of Sustainable Energy Systems at Siemens Energy:

“We are delighted to be part of the Hamburg project as it is another important step in the ramp-up of the European hydrogen economy. Without green molecules, the energy transition will not succeed. It is good that the German government is doing its part to ensure that this project can now be realized quickly by providing the funding.”

Preparatory work to make room for the construction of the electrolyzer has been underway on the site of the former power plant since last autumn 2023. The former Moorburg coal-fired power plant is being partially dismantled to make room for the 100 MW electrolyzer and the connection to the HH-WIN hydrogen distribution network. Parts of the existing infrastructure and facilities shall continue to be used for HGHH’s purposes in future. For example, the water treatment facilities, the workshop, and storage building will all be retained. The existing connection to the extra-high voltage grid, which will supply the electrolyzer with electricity from renewable energies in future, will be converted and relocated. On the design and planning side, Ramboll was commissioned to perform the FEED study (Front End Engineering & Design) at the beginning of 2024, which is already nearing completion.

The HGHH consortium has been energetically working together since last fall to fully develop the detailed execution plan. Green hydrogen production is to be gradually ramped up at a later stage, ensuring stable operation of the hydrogen distribution network. The consortium is aiming for a portfolio of hydrogen consumers from various industrial sectors and is already in negotiations with many of these companies. Green hydrogen is to be supplied via the HH-WIN hydrogen distribution network and the planned truck loading station.

* The HGHH and HH-WIN projects are among the 23 projects of the third so-called Hy2Infra wave of the IPCEI Hydrogen (Important Projectsof Common European Interest), which was approved by the EU Commission on February 15, 2024.

Source: Luxcara

 

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