The chemical site Leuna is becoming the European center for hydrogen liquefaction.
Three hydrogen liquefaction plants are currently operating in Europe, one of them at the production site of the industrial gas group Linde in Leuna. Linde is now building another state-of-the-art facility at the site, which is scheduled to go online in 2021. Saxony-Anhalt’s Prime Minister Reiner Haseloff took the spade at the official opening ceremony for the construction work on 30 October.
Jens Waldeck, Managing Director of Linde Gas for the Central Europe region, among others, welcomed Dietlind Hagenau, Mayor of the city of Leuna, as well as other guests of honor. Christof Günther, Managing Director of Infraleuna. In his speech, Jens Waldeck emphasized the importance of the investment for Linde and its customers: “Hydrogen is an energy source of the future. Across Europe, we are seeing a strong increase in demand. With the new plant, we ensure that we can offer our customers the highest standards of readiness for delivery and product purity as usual. “
The importance of the new hydrogen liquefier for Leuna was emphasized by Prime Minister Reiner Haseloff in his welcoming speech: “Linde has played a key role in shaping the Leuna Chemical Park for decades and is one of the largest employers in the region. With the strong location expansion and the construction of a further plant for the production of liquid hydrogen, Linde is firmly committed to the Leuna site. I am delighted that Leuna will become a European center for gas liquefaction as part of the investment. “
Christof Günther, Managing Director of Infraleuna, emphasized the traditionally good relations between Linde and the site operator. “For many years, we have been working closely with Linde for a close cooperation that goes far beyond the usual customer-supplier relationship. For example, Infraleuna also supplies other German Linde sites with natural gas. The construction of the new hydrogen liquefaction plant is a testament to the special significance of the Leuna site in the global Linde Group and its attractiveness for future-oriented, particularly demanding new investments in high-tech production plants. “
Higher capacities – fewer trips
With the new plant, which will be the most modern of its kind in Europe, Linde will double the liquefaction capacity at the site.
Instead of five so far, it will soon be possible to produce up to ten tonnes of liquid hydrogen per day. Both plants are currently being supplied by the neighboring hydrogen production plants via a pipeline with the gaseous crude product.
Even “green” hydrogen from the planned real laboratory in Leuna can be processed here in the future and used to supply hydrogen refueling stations. The hydrogen is liquefied in the new plant at a temperature of -253 ° C and then loaded for trucking at special filling levels. In liquid form, hydrogen has a much higher energy content per unit volume than in the gaseous compressed state. The number of trips required to deliver to customers is thus significantly reduced. In any case, the way to reach most of Leuna’s customers is not far away: The largest customers include the Saxon electronics industry, where high-purity, liquefied hydrogen is indispensable as a process gas in semiconductor manufacturing.
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