Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action Robert Habeck, Lower Saxony’s Minister President Stephan Weil as well as Lower Saxony’s Minister for the Environment, Energy and Climate Protection were present when RWE commissioned its pilot electrolyzer plant in Lingen.

The facility on the site of RWE’s Emsland gas-fired power plant has a capacity of 14 megawatts (MW). It can generate up to 270 kilograms of green H₂ per hour using electricity from renewable sources. Featuring two different electrolysis technologies, the pilot plant is to provide valuable insights for developing future industrial-scale H₂ facilities. The first large commercial electrolyzer plant is already being built only meters away. As part of the GET H₂ Nukleus project, a 100-MW electrolyzer is to be commissioned there by 2025, with its capacity to be expanded to 300 MW by 2027.

Markus Krebber, CEO of RWE AG said, “Lingen is one of the most exciting locations of the German energy transition. In addition to operating our flexible gas-fired power plant and our state-of-the-art large-scale battery system, we are now also producing green H₂ here. Over the coming years, we will expand our production capacities for green H₂ at this site further to supply industrial consumers with green molecules and thus support them in their decarbonization efforts. Together with our partner companies, our teams are pioneering these innovative technologies here. The H₂ economy is extremely complex. With the core grid, an import strategy, domestic H₂ production, and H₂ storage facilities we have a target picture of the future. We can see a part of this vision becoming reality here and now.”

Robert Habeck, Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action said, “By supporting H₂ along the entire value chain, we are taking an important step towards a climate-neutral and sustainable economy in Germany. The federal government and state governments are collaborating closely to create the right conditions for climate-neutral economic growth.

I am convinced that electrolyzers like this one here in Lingen will make an important contribution towards a successful energy transition. The green H₂ generated in the electrolyzers here will be a key component for the decarbonization of industry and the energy sector in Germany.”

Minister President Stephan Weil said, “The pioneering work that is being done in Lingen is exemplary. Here, we see how industry can be decarbonized successfully in an impressive manner. The production of green H₂ on an industrial scale supported financially by us as the state government here at RWE, is a key prerequisite for successfully transforming our energy supply and our industry towards becoming climate neutral. Within Germany, the state of Lower Saxony is leading the way in terms of investments in this technology. Fifty percent of Germany’s green H₂ production as recently approved by the EU is to come from Lower Saxony. Lower Saxony is to become a hub for producing, importing, storing, transporting, and using H₂. We are thus on a good trajectory towards developing into Germany’s number-one H₂ state. Now, it is important to grow the industrial demand for H₂ further and create the best-possible conditions for utilizing electricity from renewable sources in an even more targeted manner rather than having to curtail production in order to prevent congestion on the electricity grids.”

The Lower Saxony Ministry for the Environment, Energy and Climate Protection provided €8 MM in funding for the pilot electrolyzer that has just been commissioned. The company has also been granted funding from the federal government and the state of Lower Saxony of over €490 MM for constructing the 300-MW electrolyzer as part of the GET H₂ Nukleus project.

RWE uses the pilot plant to gain valuable insights into developing and operating industrial-scale systems. The pilot electrolyzer consists of two sub-systems - an alkaline electrolyzer from Sunfire with a capacity of 10 MW and a 4 MW plant, designed and built by Linde using a PEM electrolyzer (PEM: proton exchange membrane) from ITM Power.

Initially, the H₂ produced in the pilot plant is to be added to the fuel for the power plant’s unit D gas turbine as part of a comprehensive test program at the site. From mid-2025, it will also be possible to fill H₂-powered vehicles with H₂ from the pilot plant at the Emsland gas-fired power plant. The construction work for a H₂ filling station and a trailer filling facility for H₂ has already commenced.

Lingen as a starting point for the ramp-up of the H₂ economy. Together with strong partners, RWE is part of the GET H₂ initiative aimed at building the first H₂ infrastructure in Germany that is accessible to the public. The GET H₂ Nukleus project connects the production facilities for green H₂ in Lingen to industrial consumers in Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia. The grid, spanning 130 km from Lingen to Gelsenkirchen, is to become the first H₂ grid in the regulated sector with transparent prices and providing non-discriminatory access. In this way, the initiative wants to contribute towards significantly accelerating the ramp-up of the H₂ economy and help companies in the industrial and mobility sectors to reach their climate targets.