Wacker Chemie AG’s project funding proposal to the European Union for building a production complex for green hydrogen and renewable methanol at its Burghausen site has reached the next selection stage.

The funding application states that Wacker wants to build a 20-MW electrolysis plant with Linde GmbH to generate hydrogen from water using renewable electricity. Further, the project includes a synthesis plant for processing the green hydrogen into renewable methanol, using carbon dioxide from existing production processes. The synthesis plant’s expected capacity is 15,000 metric tpy. Hydrogen and methanol are both key starting materials for chemical products such as silicones. Compared with current production methods, the new processes could cut CO₂ emissions by around 80%.

In total, some $117 MM is planned for the project, which is named RHYME (renewable hydrogen and methanol) Bavaria. Wacker has submitted funding applications for RHYME Bavaria to both the European Union and Germany’s Ministry for the Environment. The requested support is in the high double-digit millions. Through its Innovation Fund, the EU has a budget of €10 billion to support innovative low-carbon technologies and processes in energy-intensive industries until 2030.

Wacker’s collaborative project has passed the EU’s preliminary selection stage and the two project partners are now preparing a full application for the second stage. If the funding is granted, construction could begin at the start of next year, with the plants potentially coming onstream before the end of 2024.