Dauerthal, 08 June 2021 | Last week, the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology and the German Federal Ministry of Transport selected 62 large-scale hydrogen projects to receive government funding as "Important Projects of Common European Interest" (IPCEI). ENERTRAG is involved in three of these projects (No. 8, 46, 47) together with various partners and will thus play an important role in the implementation of the National Hydrogen Strategy.

The 62 large-scale hydrogen projects were selected from over 230 project outlines received and represent the entire value chain of the hydrogen market. The funding procedure aims to contribute to the implementation of the National Hydrogen Strategy, taking into account the EU targets in the areas of production, infrastructure and use in the industrial and mobility sectors. In this context, the funding volume of the IPCEI projects corresponds to 40 percent of the target set in the National Hydrogen Strategy of 5 gigawatts of electrolysis capacity by 2030.

Now that the 62 projects have been selected, they will take part in a second stage of the selection process (matchmaking) at European level. The aim is to identify potential European project partners, as the IPCEI projects are to be integrated into a transnational hydrogen value chain as European collaborative projects in the medium term. This European matchmaking process starts today, June 8. According to the Federal Ministry of Economics, the goal is to have the projects approved by the European Commission before the end of this year. The first funding decisions are expected to be issued in spring 2022.

"Based on our extensive experience, we are in the starting blocks to apply hydrogen technology in large-scale projects with an energy system approach and are pleased with the ministry's decision," commented ENERTRAG CEO Dr. Gunar Hering. "The decision for projects aiming at feeding green hydrogen into converted H₂ gas pipeline networks is an important step towards a European hydrogen infrastructure."

The selected projects No. 8 and No. 46 are two applications submitted as sub-projects of the joint project "doing hydrogen" by ENERTRAG together with its project partner CEMEX. The joint project "doing hydrogen" was initiated by the two transmission system operators Gascade and ONTRAS. Together with other partners, an East German hydrogen hub is to be created, linking H₂ projects in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Brandenburg, Berlin, Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt. To this end, the backbone of an H₂ network is to be rapidly developed and the network filled with green hydrogen. In this context, ENERTRAG plans to build a total of 210 MW of electrolysis capacity at four locations, as well as the renewable generation capacities required for this in the form of wind power and photovoltaic plants.

In addition, ENERTRAG is planning the scale-up phase of the "Concrete Chemicals" flagship project (No. 47) together with CEMEX at the Rüdersdorf cement plant, in which 35,000 tons of green hydrocarbons are to be produced annually at the site. CO₂ captured from cement production (100,000 tons/year) will be processed with green hydrogen (15,000 tons/year), sourced via the "doing hydrogen" hydrogen pipeline, in novel synthetic reactors to produce high-quality e-Crude (naphtha-grade green hydrocarbons). These processes increase efficiency, reduce CO₂ emissions and produce alternative fuels at the Rüdersdorf site.

"Hydrogen is the best energy storage for renewable energy - and it can be used much more efficiently than coal, oil or natural gas," ENERTRAG CEO Jörg Müller makes clear. "The projects selected by the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology can be milestones on the road to climate neutrality. Important here is the direct simultaneous coupling of hydrogen production with wind power and PV, which eliminates the natural fluctuations of renewables."

In addition, ENERTRAG is an associated partner of the GET H₂ initiative and in this context plans to build a green hydrogen electrolysis plant and feed it into the planned hydrogen network of the GET H₂ partners, which will also be promoted as an IPCEI project. The project of the GET H₂ partners, which is also promoted as an IPCEI project, connects the production and transport of green hydrogen with industrial customers in Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia. At the same time, a connection to the hydrogen network in the Netherlands will be created and a first hydrogen storage facility will be connected.

More information will be available soon at:

https://www.doinghydrogen.com/

https://www.concrete-chemicals.eu/

Image source: BMWi IPCEI-Standorte

Contact

ENERTRAG - Dr. Nadine Haase - Head of Communications and Marketing -

Phone: +49 39854 6459368 - nadine.haase@enertrag.com

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ENERTRAG provides all services related to renewable energies. We efficiently combine electricity, heat and mobility in all areas of life. As an energy producer with an annual electricity production of 1.7 million MWh and a service network that supports over 1,125 wind turbines, we know from our own experience what is important to our customers. With over two decades of experience in Europe, our 680 employees combine all the competencies required for successful operation and efficient maintenance, as well as for citizen-oriented planning and reliable construction of energy plants and grids up to complete interconnected power plants. We are always one energy ahead - be it in sector coupling, participation models or demand-driven night-time labeling.