RWE receives 108 million euro grant from the European Union's innovation fund for the FUREC project. Within this project, RWE converts residual waste into hydrogen.
The FUREC project aims to produce circular and green hydrogen from non-recyclable municipal solid waste. This involves waste currently sent for incineration or landfill. The project takes place in Limburg and should eventually supply green hydrogen to the Chemelot industrial estate in Sittard-Geleen, Limburg. FUREC stands for 'Fuse Reuse Recycle'.
Green hydrogen is hydrogen generated using renewable energy. In the production of hydrogen, an electrolyser converts water into water and hydrogen. This process requires energy. If renewable energy has been used for this purpose, we speak of green hydrogen. Has the energy used not been generated sustainably? Then it is grey hydrogen.
Funding
The FUREC project will receive 108 million euros funding from the EU's Innovation Fund. CEO of RWE Generation Roger Miesen received the funding agreement at the Financing Innovative Clean Tech Conference in Brussels, Belgium.
RWE speaks of a "crucial milestone" for the progress of the FUREC project. Implementing the project requires an investment of more than €600 million. The Innovation Fund is therefore a major contributor to this. Thanks to this funding, RWE says it can 'proceed at full speed with the further development of the project, such as obtaining the necessary consents and permits'.
At the same time, the company wants to conclude contracts with plant suppliers, as well as potential customers of hydrogen and CO2 as well as companies that supply waste in suitable quantities and quality. This waste will preferably come from Limburg. The waste is delivered by ship or truck. For this purpose, RWE has an option on several hectares of land, located directly at the port. Once on site, RWE sorts, reduces and processes the waste into pellets, also known as pellets.
From household waste to hydrogen
As part of the FUREC project, RWE wants a pre-treatment plant at Zevenellen in Limburg. This plant will convert non-recyclable municipal solid waste into solid recovered fuel pellets. The plant should process some 700,000 tonnes of household waste on an annual basis. About 50% of this should be of biogenic origin. Think textiles and paper.
The feedstock pellets RWE creates in Zevenellen will be converted into hydrogen in a second plant. RWE is building this plant on the Chemelot industrial estate in Limburg. The plant should produce around 54,000 tonnes of hydrogen on an annual basis. This corresponds to the output of a 700 megawatt offshore wind farm with coupled electrolysers, RWE reports.
Positive impact on the environment
The positive impact on the environment is expected to be significant. For example, the use of hydrogen is expected to reduce the natural gas consumption of companies on the Chemelot industrial estate by more than 280 million cubic metres a year. This amounts to about half of the annual domestic gas consumption in Limburg. The FUREC project should save around 400,000 tonnes of CO2 on an annual basis.
From every tonne of waste, RWE aims to produce 60 kilos of hydrogen and replace 340 cubic metres of natural gas in the FUREC project. In doing so, it avoids 413 kilos of CO2 emissions per tonne of waste.
Capture, store and use CO2 as raw material
The production of hydrogen also releases CO2. RWE captures and stores this CO2. Eventually, the company wants industry to use the CO2 as a raw material. The hydrogen is either sold locally on the Chemelot industrial estate or transported to industrial companies in Rotterdam and the Ruhr region. FUREC is preparing the necessary grid connections to the hydrogen and CO₂ infrastructure.
"FUREC is an excellent example of the circular economy at its best, using waste to produce hydrogen. The commitment from the European Union (EU) Innovation Fund shows this and underlines that RWE can make a significant contribution to decarbonising the economy with this project. For the chemical industry, hydrogen offers great potential to make the production process of raw materials more sustainable. This is where our project comes around the corner. With FUREC, we facilitate the development of a centre for the circular economy in the province of Limburg. At the same time, we enable the chemical industry to reduce its CO₂ emissions. Thanks to FUREC, Limburg can serve as a blueprint for other locations in the Netherlands and in Europe," said Roger Miesen, CEO of RWE Generation SE.
Pilot plant
A final investment decision for the project is scheduled for 2024. Previously, RWE realised a pilot plant for the FUREC project in cooperation with machine builder John Cockerill at RWE's innovation centre in Niederaußem, Germany. This involves a so-called torrefaction plant. The pilot plant is intended to optimise the process steps needed to produce hydrogen from residual waste. RWE invested €3 million in the plant.
Further information on the FUREC project is available here.
Author: Wouter Hoeffnagel
Photo: akitada31 via Pixabay
