The proposed plant will produce hydrogen from wind and solar power at Moorburg power plant site in Hamburg
The green hydrogen plant is expected to begin production in 2025. (Credit: Vattenfall)
Shell, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI), Vattenfall and municipal company Wärme Hamburg have signed a letter of intent to build a 100MW hydrogen plant in Germany.
The proposed plant will produce hydrogen from wind and solar power at Vattenfall’s Moorburg power plant site in Hamburg.
Subject to future investment decisions, the green hydrogen plant is expected to begin production in 2025.
In the first quarter of 2021, the partners plan to seek funding under the EU programme “Important Projects of Common European Interest” (IPCEI), with the submission of a first outline of the project.
Vattenfall strategic development senior vice president and head Andreas Regnell said: “The production of fossil free hydrogen is one key to the decarbonisation of the industry and the transport sectors.
“Vattenfall wants to enable fossil free living within one generation and we have high ambitions to grow within renewable energy production in the markets where we operate.
“In this project we can contribute with our expertise and experience and the unique Moorburg site that has the infrastructure that is necessary for large scale production of hydrogen.
“We are therefore pleased that we can support the city and the industrial location of Hamburg in implementing their ambitious climate goals.”
The project partners consider the location of the hydrogen plant as suitable for further use, as it is connected to both the national 380kV transmission network and the 110kV of the City of Hamburg.
The companies will also explore concepts for the necessary logistics chains and storage options for hydrogen at the site.
Operated by Hamburgische Electricitäts-Werke, Moorburg was the site of a gas-fired power plant for many years before Vattenfall started operating a coal-fired power plant in 2015.
In December 2020, Vattenfall ceased commercial operations at the Moorburg power plant, after it won a bid in the auction for the nationwide coal phase-out.