- 10 gigawatts of generation capacity planned by 2035 – sufficient to produce up to 1 million tons of hydrogen per year
- Concept presented at the digital parliamentary evening: MdB Dr. Stefan Kaufmann, Federal Government Commissioner for Hydrogen, emphasizes the importance of green hydrogen for the North Sea region
- RWE contributes expertise in offshore wind and along the entire hydrogen value chain
It is the project that not only the more than 200 participants in the digital event have been waiting for: The parliamentary evening “Green Hydrogen from the North Sea” on December 8th was all about a successful energy transition. The newly founded AquaVentus Förderverein presented the plan to install ten gigawatts of offshore wind turbines in the North Sea between Helgoland and the Doggerbank sandbank by 2035. The wind power will be used to generate hydrogen on the high seas and then bring it to shore via a pipeline.
In addition to Jörg Singer, the mayor of Helgoland and chairman of AquaVentus, the member of the Bundestag and innovation officer for “green hydrogen” from the federal government, Dr. Stefan Kaufmann and Sven Utermöhlen, COO Offshore Wind Global of RWE Renewables, to the speakers.
Ten gigawatts by 2035: AquaVentus as a central component of the hydrogen strategy
The EU and Germany have set themselves the goal of being climate neutral by 2050. The generation of green hydrogen from renewable energies at sea can make a significant contribution to this – and play a key role in the decarbonization of the industrialized nation of Germany. Green hydrogen opens up enormous potential for the energy industry, plant construction and the CO2-free design of energy-intensive industries as well as the restructuring of the mobility and logistics sector. “Generating up to a million tons of green hydrogen per year in the North Sea sounds like a utopia. We are convinced that this will become a reality and will soon become normal. I am pleased that the island of Helgoland can make an important contribution to achieving the climate targets in Germany, ”said Jörg Singer.
For the Federal Government’s Hydrogen Commissioner Dr. Stefan Kaufmann, AquaVentus is a real lighthouse project. “The North Sea region is predestined to play a key role in the future hydrogen economy. The AquaVentus initiative brings together strong partners and connects the value chain from manufacture to transport to the customer. This enables the project to show how innovative technologies interact in practice, ”said Kaufmann.
RWE contributes expertise in offshore wind and along the entire hydrogen value chain
RWE contributes its broad expertise in renewable energies and the subject of hydrogen to the AquaVentus initiative. The energy company is the world’s second-largest operator of offshore wind farms. RWE operates two offshore wind farms off the island of Helgoland alone: Nordsee Ost (295 MW) and Amrumbank West (302 MW). Another offshore project will be added in the coming year with Kaskasi (342 MW). This makes RWE the largest offshore player on the island.
RWE is also well positioned along the entire value chain for green hydrogen: RWE Renewables can supply clean electricity for production. RWE Generation has the know-how to produce green hydrogen. RWE Gas Storage can temporarily store hydrogen in its gas storage facilities and the energy trading company RWE Supply & Trading can provide the fuel to industrial customers as required. RWE is already driving around 30 hydrogen projects in the Netherlands, Germany and the United Kingdom.
Sven Utermöhlen, COO Wind Offshore Global of RWE Renewables and Deputy Chairman of AquaVentus
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