Siemens Energy Secures Contract to Supply 280 MW Electrolysis System to German Utility for Hydrogen Project
July 30, 2024
Siemens Energy has secured a contract from German utility EWE to supply a 280 MW electrolysis system at a plant in Emden, Germany. The plant is expected to be operational in 2027 and provide up to 26,000 tons of green hydrogen annually for various industrial applications in the region.
If used to replace fossil fuels, the produced green hydrogen will reduce carbon dioxide emissions in the steel industry by nearly 800,000 tons annually.
Siemens Energy’s electrolyzer is based on PEM technology, which uses electricity to split water into its components—hydrogen and oxygen—along the proton exchange membrane. Due to the flexible ramp-up times, the technology is suitable for operation with renewable energies. The stacks are manufactured in the new gigawatt factory at Siemens Energy's Berlin site.
The electrolysis plant is part of EWE's hydrogen project, Clean Hydrogen Coastline, which consists of four sub-projects. The electrolyzer is the core of the Emden hydrogen production plant, which, including other necessary components such as compressors and cooling systems, has an average power consumption of 320 MW over its entire lifetime.
Additionally, both companies have agreed to a ten-year service contract.
The German government and the European Commission classified the project as a strategic funding measure, a so-called IPCEI project (Important Project of Common European Interest). The funding decision for the project was given to EWE at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection.
“This project is an important element in the ramp-up of the green hydrogen industry in Germany,” says Anne-Laure de Chammard, Member of the Executive Board of Siemens Energy. "With the long-awaited funding commitments, the German government has placed the final piece of the puzzle to realize strategically important projects like this on a large scale."
With the signing of the contract, EWE and Siemens Energy have approved the implementation of the project.
