The PEM electrolyzer is scheduled to begin commercial operation in 2027 on the site of the former Moorburg coal-fired power plant. The existing connection to the high-voltage grid can be used for hydrogen production after conversion.
9. September 2024
Siemens Energy manufactures the electrolyzer stacks at its plant in Berlin
Photo: Siemens Energy
The Moorburg coal-fired power plant at the Port of Hamburg was only granted a short operating life: after it started operations in 2015, it went into grid reserve just five years later until it was finally shut down for good in 2021. Instead of dirty fossil power, clean hydrogen is now to be produced on the site: The Hamburg Green Hydrogen Hub – a consortium consisting of the municipal utility Hamburger Energiewerke and the local asset manager Luxcara – have commissioned Siemens Energy to supply an electrolyzer for their planned production plant.
The partners want to produce around 10,000 tons of green hydrogen annually in Moorburg from 2027 onwards. Siemens Energy will manufacture the stacks of its PEM electrolyzer in its new plant in Berlin. The systems will then be assembled at the Siemens site in Mülheim an der Ruhr and at a European partner. Siemens Energy is relying on Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) technology, in which water is split into its components hydrogen and oxygen using electricity along a membrane. This technology enables flexible operation – an advantage when operating with renewable energies.
Feeding into distribution network and truck transport
Preparatory work for hydrogen production is currently underway on the site of the former power plant. Parts of the existing infrastructure and facilities can continue to be used in the future. For example, the water treatment facilities and the workshop and storage building will remain. The existing connection to the high-voltage grid, which will supply the electrolyzer with electricity from renewable energies in the future, will be converted and relocated.
The consortium is aiming for a portfolio of hydrogen consumers from various industries. Negotiations are already underway with many of these companies. The supply of green hydrogen will be provided via the HH-WIN hydrogen distribution network and the truck loading station that is also planned. The partners want to gradually ramp up the production of green hydrogen in order to ensure stable operation of the hydrogen distribution network.
The project is funded by the federal and state governments. The EU Commission classified it as an IPCEI project (Important Projects of Common European Interest) in February 2024 – thus paving the way for national funding.
“Ordering the electrolyzer is a milestone for our project,” says Christoph Cosler, Head of Corporate Development at Hamburger Energiewerke and Managing Director of HGHH. “The decisive factor for this step was the national funding approval that we received for our project in mid-July. After all the preparatory work, we are now moving on to concrete implementation.”
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