Westfallen Group and RWE have announced that they are due to construct a hydrogen refueling station at the Emsland gas-fired power plant. This plant is due to be based in Germany and it is expected to begin operations in 2025.

RWE’s Emsland plant’s main gate is the location which has been selected for a hydrogen refueling station, which has been designed for commercial vehicles. At the same time, a filling station for tanker vehicles will also be set up, however this facility will not be made available to the public. The first hydrogen sales to be made at this facility will be tendered, in order to allow companies who have a previously arranged purchase agreement to collect hydrogen with tank trailers, so that they can then transport it to their own sites.

The facility that the company is developing, will be created to provide an estimated 500kg of hydrogen to tanks on a daily basis, as well as passenger and utility vehicles from 2025. To make this possible, the station will source its green hydrogen from RWE’s 14MW electrolyser in Lingen. This electrolyser has already produced its first kilogrammes and this occurred in September of 2023.

The companies within the agreement have decided that RWE will own the plant whilst Westfallen will lead the operations. After discussions, it has also been agreed that, in order to expand the fuel station network in Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia, the companies will create a joint venture, which will be called ‘two4H2’.

So far, the project has been supported with a total of $6.5m provided by the Federal Ministry of Digital and Transport Affairs (BMDV). This support will aid in the construction of the project and it has been provided as part of the National Innovation Programme for Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology. Altogether, the investment volume for this initiative has reach $19.7m.

COO of Hydrogen at RWE Generation, Dr Sopna Sury, commented, “Until companies in the region are connected to a hydrogen distribution network, our filling infrastructure creates an opportunity for green molecules to reach the customer by road. In this way, we will make green hydrogen available as early as 2025 and enable companies to switch their processes to hydrogen and achieve their climate targets at an early stage.”

CEO of Westfalen Group Dr Thomas Perkmann, mentioned, “The hydrogen refuelling station and the neighbouring filling station here in Lingen are just the first visible signs of the hydrogen cooperation between RWE and Westfalen. Both companies are representative of the industry, which is more than ready for a hydrogen ramp-up in Germany.”