RWE receives a €124.9 million grant for Eemshydrogen. As part of this project, RWE wants to build a 50-megawatt electrolysis plant to produce green hydrogen. The electrolyser should use green electricity from RWE's Westereems wind farm, located five kilometres from the Eemshaven power plant.
The grant has been awarded by the Rijksdienst voor Ondernemend Nederland (RVO). Green hydrogen plays an important role in achieving the Netherlands' goal of climate neutrality by 2050, which is needed to meet European climate targets. The Climate Accord stipulates that the Netherlands should have electrolysis capacity of 3-4 gigawatts by 2030, including sufficient storage sites and infrastructure. At the end of 2022, this target was further tightened to 8 gigawatts by 2032.
Grants and funding
Various subsidies and financing options have been developed by the Dutch government to achieve these objectives. One example is the subsidy scheme Opschaling Volledig Hernieuwbare Waterstofproductie via Elektrolyse (OWE). RWE successfully applied for this subsidy in the first bidding round.
Marinus Tabak, COO RWE Generation and Country Chair RWE Netherlands, is excited about receiving the grant. Tabak: "This is excellent news. The funding is a crucial part of making the overall project economically viable and further boosting the hydrogen market in the province of Groningen and beyond. By supplying clean hydrogen, for example to the transport sector and chemical plants in Delfzijl, Eemshydrogen will help reduce CO₂ emissions from industrial companies in the region."
Connection to national hydrogen backbone
RWE plans to make a financial investment decision (FID) for Eemshydrogen by the end of this year. A key condition for this is a timely connection to the necessary infrastructure. Think of the national 'hydrogen backbone' for transporting green hydrogen to the market.
Earlier, RWE obtained an environmental and building permit for Eemshydrogen. Contact has also already been made with potential customers. RWE hopes to commission the electrolyser in 2027.
Long-standing focal point
RWE has long been committed to green hydrogen; worldwide, the company is involved in more than 30 hydrogen projects, particularly in north-western Europe and North America. In the United Kingdom (UK), for example, the company plans to develop a plant to produce green hydrogen on land, alongside its existing Pembroke Power Station in Wales.
In addition, RWE in Lingen is allowed by the competent authority in Oldenburg, Germany, to realise electrolysers on the site of its gas-fired electricity ccecntrale.
In the Netherlands, RWE is also working on more opportunities to build electrolysers to supply green hydrogen in Rotterdam and Zeeland, among others.
Author: Wouter Hoeffnagel
Image: Roman via Pixabay
