RWE receives funding approval for the Lingen facility
The approval application for the pilot facility has been submitted, and construction work is expected to start in June.
RWE has received funding approval for a 14 MW electrolyser test facility in Lingen, where the construction works to start in June.
RWE intends to invest €30 million in the construction of the test electrolyser at the site of its Emsland gas-fired power station. While, an €8 million is committed by the government of Lower Saxony to set up a test electrolyser to generate green hydrogen in Lingen within reach.
The pilot electrolyser will have an initial capacity of 14 MW, making it one of the largest facilities of its kind in Germany from the outset. RWE aims to use the trial facility to test two electrolyser technologies under industrial conditions: Dresden manufacturer Sunfire will install a pressure-alkaline electrolyser with a capacity of 10 MW for RWE. In parallel, Linde, a leading global industrial gases and engineering company will set up a 4 MW proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyser. RWE will own and operate the entire site in Lingen.
Following approval and the construction phase, the electrolyser facility will begin generating up to 290 kg of green hydrogen per hour from Spring 2023, using green electricity. The trial operating phase is initially planned for three years, with an option for a further year.
The hydrogen generated will be fed into a public hydrogen network or mixed with the fuel for gas turbines at the power plant. It could also be used to supply the hydrogen-capable gas turbine that RWE and Kawasaki plan to construct at Lingen by 2024.
The Lingen location plays a key role in RWE’s hydrogen strategy: As part of the GET H2 project, the company plans to set up its first 100 MW electrolyser facility there by 2024. Its capacity will then be expanded to 300 MW by 2026. The objective of GET H2 is to work with partners to achieve the critical mass needed to get the construction of a national hydrogen infrastructure underway and develop a powerful European hydrogen market.
The facility aims to gain operational experience with the industrial use of the two technologies that will account for several hundred megawatts in the context of GET H2. The funding commitment by the Ministry of the Environment in Lower Saxony is a crucial contribution toward ensuring that this pilot project can be implemented and will pave the way for future large-scale facilities.
Sopna Sury, COO Hydrogen at RWE Generation SE, said, “By 2030, RWE will have created two gigawatts of electrolyser capacity of its own in order to generate green hydrogen.”
Olaf Lies, Minister for the Environment, Energy, Building and Climate Protection of the State of Lower Saxony, commented, “RWE is not just demonstrating its commitment to Lingen as an energy location; with this pilot project the company is also taking the first steps towards the planned construction of large-scale electrolysis capacities here on site.”
