Germany announces three green hydrogen projects

Germany's research ministry today presented three large-scale research projects on green hydrogen, with a focus on the production of large electrolysers, on combining offshore wind farms and hydrogen production, and on the transport of hydrogen.

Federal research minister Anja Karliczek awarded a total of €700mn to the three projects — H2Giga, H2Mare and TransportHyDE. The projects, which bring together 230 partners from industry and research, are scheduled to run until 2025.

"We are convinced that green hydrogen will play a key role in overcoming the coronavirus pandemic," Karliczek said. The projects will also strengthen the EU's "technological sovereignty in a crucial area", Karliczek said.

The H2Giga project, co-ordinated by steel firm Thyssenkrupp, will look at developing technologies for the serial construction of standard water electrolysers.

The H2Mare project, co-ordinated by engineering firm Siemens Energy, will look at ways of producing hydrogen and its derivatives offshore, on the basis of offshore wind power.

The TransportHyDE project, co-ordinated by the Fritz-Haber-Institute of the Max-Planck-Society, will develop, evaluate and demonstrate technologies for the transport of hydrogen.

The federal government's innovation officer for green hydrogen, member of parliament for the governing CDU-CSU group Stefan Kaufmann, said that with these three projects, Germany is making a big leap towards becoming a "hydrogen republic". "Our competitors are not asleep," he said. For Germany's industry to remain competitive, the country must develop a globally leading industry for generating, transporting and processing green hydrogen. "We may not have as much wind or sun as other countries, but we do have the necessary know-how for setting up a sustainable, secure, and efficient energy system of the future."

The H2Mare project will culminate in the construction in 2026 of a combined offshore wind farm and electrolyser site in the German North Sea. The exact location and capacity of the projected site have not been determined yet, Siemens Energy chief executive Christian Bruch said.

Energy expert Kirsten Westphal, who acted as the chairwoman of the expert commission that selected the three projects, said that Germany already is a global technology leader when it comes to transporting gases. This leadership should continue with regard to transporting hydrogen, she said.

Germany's national hydrogen strategy provides for a total €9bn of support for setting up a hydrogen economy by 2030. The country plans to have 5GW of installed electrolysis capacity by 2030.

By Chloe Jardine