RWE is another important step closer to realising an electrolyser for the production of green hydrogen at Groningen's Eemshaven. This comes as the province of Groningen has granted a full environmental permit. RWE has been developing the innovative 'Eemshydrogen' project since 2020. The next necessary steps for project success are an early connection to the hydrogen backbone (underground pipelines) and granting of the necessary subsidy.
The yet-to-be-built electrolyser has a capacity of at least 50 megawatts. Depending on further regulations and market developments, further upscaling is possible. The electrolyser will be directly connected to RWE wind farm Westereems. This will ensure the production of green hydrogen and enable the relief of the electricity grid. With the produced green hydrogen, more than 250,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions can be avoided over the total life cycle.
Green hydrogen badly needed
Industry must become greener. In this respect, affordable green hydrogen is badly needed. RWE has close contacts with chemical companies like Evonik that want to invest in making their business more sustainable. Robert Katzer, head of Strategic Marketing at Evonik Active Oxygens: "We want to be completely climate-neutral by 2040. This means replacing fossil fuels such as gas with renewable energy sources such as green hydrogen. It is therefore important to explore the possibilities of expanding the availability of green hydrogen together with expert providers such as RWE."
Making business processes more sustainable
Another company that wants to use green hydrogen is BioMCN. The company is a producer of (bio)methanol and part of OCI N.V. They also want to make their business processes more sustainable with green hydrogen. They want to produce green E-methanol, for sustainable shipping, among other things. Back in 2020, RWE signed a letter of intent with OCI N.V. on the future supply of green hydrogen to production site BioMCN, as an important contribution to the economic feasibility of the Eemshydrogen project.
Making headway
Province of Groningen granted the environmental permit needed to build the electrolyser. Like RWE, it wants to become a leader in hydrogen in Europe. Hynetwork Services, a wholly owned subsidiary of N.V. Nederlandse Gasunie, is responsible for the so-called hydrogen backbone. This is a network of underground pipes connecting industries, hydrogen depots, production sites in the Netherlands and neighbouring countries, among others.
Grey versus green
Not only rapid connection to the hydrogen backbone is needed. Subsidies are also needed to close the financial gap between grey and green hydrogen and thus make the project economically viable. The government is working hard on mechanisms for this. Rapid opening of these is crucial for the project to succeed.
Hydrogen Valley
The Northern Netherlands has been named Europe's first Hydrogen Valley by the European Commission. RWE is determined to play an active role in the development of the hydrogen economy here. It can develop the Eemshaven area into one of the leading energy and hydrogen hubs in Northwest Europe. This is possible by combining smart technologies and solutions. Think of this electrolyser, the existing RWE Eemshaven power plant and the Magnum power plant, which will be acquired from Vattenfall at the end of September.
600 megawatts
As part of the tender for the offshore wind farm Hollandse Kust West VII, RWE also wants to build electrolyzers with a total capacity of 600 megawatts. In this way, RWE is actively supporting the decarbonisation of the industry. At the same time, this gives the province of Groningen a strong position within the Dutch hydrogen economy.
Final investment decision
RWE is expected to make a final investment decision for the project early next year, after which production of green hydrogen could begin in 2025. In addition to the Eemshydrogen project, RWE is also working to develop onshore and offshore hydrogen projects. Examples include H2opZee, NortH2 and FUREC, all of which contribute to decarbonising industry
