EWE’s hydrogen production plant is planned for 2027 and it has been agreed that Siemens Energy will supply a 280MW electrolysis system for the plant. This has been confirmed through a 10-year service contract.

The German Government and the European Commission has already classified this initiative as a strategic funding measure and they have also recognised it as an Important Project of Common European Interest (IPCEI).

Last week the funding decision for this project was handed over to EWE and this occurred at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection. After the signing was complete, EWE and Siemens instantly provided the go-ahead for implementation to commence.

So far it has been planned that the facility will be located in Germany, specifically Emden and the expectation to generate an estimated 26,000 tonnes of green hydrogen on an annual basis has been placed on the project. The green hydrogen that is to be produced will go into use within industrial applications within the region. Furthermore, the electrolysis plant will be part of the Clean Hydrogen Coastline, which so far is made-up of four sub-projects.

The significance of this PEM electrolyser has been indicated through the plant being called the ‘core of the Emden hydrogen production plant.’ Once this project is completed, combining it will other components such as compressors and cooling system, will give the system an estimated power consumption of 320MW throughout its entire lifetime.

Member of the Executive Board of Siemens Energy, Anne-Laure de Chammard, commented, “With the long-awaited funding commitments, the German Government has placed the final piece of the puzzle to realise strategically important projects like this on a large scale. The immediate conclusion of the contract with EWE demonstrates that the industry is ready to swiftly implement these projects.”

EWE CEO, Stefan Dohler, said the company is “active along the entire value chain with its hydrogen projects,” ranging from production to transportation and storage. Our choice of location in north-west Germany and our decision to work with Siemens Energy means that we are focusing on both regional and national value creation.”