Hamburg to Build the World’s Largest Hydrogen Plant at its Port

A decision on building the world’s largest hydrogen electrolysis plant with a capacity of 100 megawatts in the Port of Hamburg will be made before the close of 2019, Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa has quoted Michael Westhagemann, Hamburg’s Senator for Economics Senator, as saying. The plant will cost a three-digit million sum and will be funded by subsidies from the German government and the EU.

Key technology

Hydrogen is considered a key technology for storing and transporting regenerative energy. More and more initiatives and projects in north German states focus on hydrogen as the energy carrier of the future. A 100-megawatt electrolysis for the production of hydrogen would be a new technical dimension as the largest plants have had only a capacity of ten megawatts hitherto. The envisaged plant in the Port of Hamburg could help solve energy transition problems. Power-to-gas (P2G) technology converts electrical power to a gas fuel. When using surplus power from wind generation, the concept is sometimes called wind gas. The conversion of electricity into hydrogen is ideal for storing excess wind energy and making it usable.

North German hydrogen strategy

The five north German states agreed on cornerstones of a northern German hydrogen strategy on May 2, 2019, which is to be adopted by the close of 2019. According to the cornerstones, northern Germany is predestined for a hydrogen industry. This poses an economic and structural opportunity that should be seized quickly.

Economics Senator Michael Westhagemann  sees in the project a new “beacon” for the city and the entire north. Westhagemann continued, “The talks with potential customers and investors are already well advanced and the final decision on the construction will be this year and as early as this fall .”

kk/pb